


Interrupted Break

by The_Unlimited



Series: Vanitas' journey through light [8]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Add in of a new character, F/M, Game: Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Grief/Anguish, I never learned what the hell I'm doing, OC Vanitas, Post-Kingdom Hearts Coded, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27625763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Unlimited/pseuds/The_Unlimited
Summary: It started out as a normal summer. Sora, Riku, and Kairi returned to Destiny Islands with Vanitas and started to have fun together, while learning a surprising revelation about their raven haired friend. However, pretty soon, Mickey sends them a letter saying that it's time to help out Vanitas's lost friends, especially since Xehanort's apparently coming back. Vanitas, figuring that he's been an amnesiac for long enough, decides to try to use his powers to give himself his memories back. He ends up learning a few things because of this. Of course, not everything he learns is good...
Relationships: Aqua & Terra & Vanitas & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Donald Duck & Goofy & Player Character & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Lea & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Mickey Mouse & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Sora & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas & Sora's Parents
Series: Vanitas' journey through light [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1246529
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. Vacation... Interrupted

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I'm not exaggerating, there isn't a character tag for Young Xehanort. I put it in the list, and the site didn't recognize it. Should it just be Xehanort? Whatever the case, I know that people hate that guy a lot. I know because I do, too. SO happy I'm about to include him in stories... You can tell that was sarcasm, right?

When Vanitas went back to Destiny Islands with Sora, Riku, and Kairi, he didn't say that part of the reason he had actually gone was to see their parents' reactions to them being back. And how they were gonna try to explain away what happened.

Needless to say, he was certainly being entertained by the former. They had reached Sora's house and opened the front door, and Sora's mom, a brunette woman just a couple of inches taller than Sora, practically tackled her little boy in a hug with how quickly and strongly she grabbed him.

"Now I wish I brought my Smartphone," Vanitas admitted with a chuckle.

Sora's mom looked up at the sound of Vanitas's voice and went wide eyed.

"I guess that's my cue," Vanitas said, walking forwards and standing next to Sora as his mom let him go. "Hi, I'm Vanitas."

Riku smirked as he watched Vanitas introduce himself to Sora's confused mom. But then he looked at Kairi, and his smile dropped as he saw the contemplative expression on her face.

"What's up?" Riku asked.

Kairi looked up at him.

"I'm happy that V's here," she said. "Really, I am. But... for how long?"

"What do you mean?" Riku asked.

"Think about it," Kairi said. "He has friends that are missing that he's known for much longer than he's known us for. Eventually, he's gonna have to go looking for them, and once he does, how do we know he'll even still want to hang around us? We've been through a lot, but I'm refusing to get too attached, just in case."

"You really haven't seen that much," Riku commented, causing her to frown in confusion. "V is here, with us, willing to call all three of us friend, even after all the crap I put him through with Roxas and Xion. He's the kind of guy that's loyal to the end, because he was literally loyal to them to the end. He's not gonna just abandon us just 'cause he gets his other friends back."

"How do you know that?" Kairi asked. "Seriously, give me one piece of evidence that'll prove that to me."

Riku looked up in thought, trying to remember an instance that he could use for an example.

Luckily for him, a very good example came when a male voice called out, "What's going on out there?"

A black haired, tan skinned, mustached man then walked out and went wide eyed in surprised delight at Sora. But then when he saw Vanitas, his delight changed into shock. And when Vanitas saw the man, he went wide eyed with surprise and shock, too.

"Vanitas?" the man asked.

"Tobias?" Vanitas asked. "This is where you ended up?"

That got Riku and Kairi's attentions.

"Wait, Tobias?" Riku asked.

"Your drunkle that brought a goat to that one Thanksgiving?" Kairi asked.

"He's not your drunkle, he's my dad," Sora told Vanitas.

"He's not your dad, he's my drunkle," Vanitas said, looking at Sora and gesturing to Tobias.

It took them two seconds to figure it out. And when they did, both of their eyes widened as they looked directly forwards. Riku and Kairi had already gone wide eyed, with Riku covering his dropped jaw.

"Your drunkle is my dad," Sora slowly said.

"Your dad is my drunkle," Vanitas said, just as slowly.

"That means..." Sora started.

"We're..." Vanitas added.

"Cousins," Sora and Vanitas finished in unison.

Eyes still wide, Sora and Vanitas looked at each other, but in a new light since they now knew that they were related. The same blood flowed through each of their veins. And they had similar reactions to the news.

"Oh, man!" Sora complained at the same time Vanitas exclaimed, "Fuck!"

"Uh, what?" Riku asked.

"Dude," Vanitas said, turning around to look at Riku. "I can bear being friends with Sora, he helps fill the quota for the number of goody-two-shoes I can bear to have around in my life. But to be _related_ to this grinning baboon? No offense."

"None taken," Sora said. "I'm just as much on the fence of being related to a guy who once went on a nine year murder rampage. Oh, man, and this means I'm gonna be short forever!"

"I haven't aged in a decade after my Keyblade exploded in my face, remember?" Vanitas reminded his... cousin... with a raised eyebrow.

"That was you?" Tobias asked, eyes wide in shock. "I've heard of a bunch of Keyblade Masters, Eraqus, Xehanort, Amelia Earhart, I figured it was one of them."

"Nope, it was your nephew," Vanitas said.

"Stop!" Sora said, closing his eyes and covering his ears.

"Not how I wanted to introduce the two of you to each other," Tobias said, sighing out in defeat.

"We already met a year ago when the island fell," Vanitas said.

"He shot a Heartless before it could pounce on me," Sora said.

"Oh, good," Tobias sighed out in relief. "You at least care enough about each other to protect the other."

"Yeah, that's true," Sora admitted, sighing out and looking at Vanitas again.

"I guess now we can finally explain why we look exactly alike," Vanitas admitted. He looked at Tobias. "And this explains where you've been all this time."

"Yeah," Tobias said. "After that incident where everyone called me a menace, especially since we have bigger menaces in the family, I used my knowledge of world travel to come here and settle down. Have a quiet life."

"Good for you, man," Vanitas said with a smile. "Gotta admit, I have missed you over the years. Hell, I'm still telling the goat at Thanksgiving story."

Tobias chuckled and looked down, shaking his head.

"I don't get it," Tobias's wife, Sora's mom, Vanitas's aunt asked. "Is your family really so bad that you wanted so bad to get away from them?"

"Yes," Vanitas and Tobias said at once.

"Hell, if it wasn't for my mom and sister, I'd probably never go back there," Vanitas said.

"How bad are they?" Sora's mom asked.

"When Vanitas was six, my father got brain cancer, and swore up and down that his pet turtles were trying to kill him," Tobias said.

"We still think he put the little knives in the cage himself," Vanitas said.

"Oh, yeah, I remember you telling me this story," Sora said. "You said he shot himself in the mouth to 'rob the turtles of the satisfaction'."

Kairi, Riku, and Sora's mom winced.

"On Thanksgiving," Sora added.

The three winced again, even louder.

"I still remember," Tobias said with a frown. "We sat down for dinner, he pulled out a revolver, yelled, 'I won't give those little shits the satisfaction!' Pointed the gun in his mouth, then his brains were splattered on the wall behind him."

"I threw up," Vanitas admitted.

"I'm not surprised," Sora's mom admitted.

"I see why you changed your last name, Tobias," Vanitas admitted. He put an arm around Sora's shoulder. "Unfortunately, that means you still have Jordan blood flowing through your veins. That means you'll probably be susceptible to a life of heavy swearing, alcohol abuse, and heavy gunfire."

"I already am, I've spent a year hanging out with you," Sora reminded him.

"True," Vanitas admitted with a smirk and a nod of the head. "But at least I use my guns for good. Not like Howard's daughter, Amelie."

Vanitas and Tobias winced at the thought.

"What's wrong with Amelie?" Kairi asked.

Vanitas and Tobias shared a look before they started telling the story.

_A young girl about twelve years of age with black hair and a rough face was shooting an M4A2 assault rifle into the back of a couch, not relenting with the gunfire._

_"I am gonna kill you, you piece of shit, son of a fucking bitch!" Amelie yelled._

_Ten year old Vanitas popped out from behind the couch holding a trash can lid in defense._

_"All I did was ask Howard for a glass of water!" Vanitas exclaimed._

_Then Amelie kept firing, and Vanitas cried out in pain as he ran across the living room, still being followed by gunfire. He hid in a hallway and collapsed to the floor. As gunfire kept hitting the wall behind him, Vanitas sat up against a wall, panting in and out, quickly noticing Tobias next to him, holding onto his right arm with his left hand._

_"Tobias?" Vanitas asked._

_"You're not alone here," Tobias said, panting in and out as he removed his hand from his arm, revealing a bullet wound. "She started firing at me when I asked Howard where I could put my coat. I told him it was a bad idea to give her a gun for Christmas."_

Sora, Sora's mom, Riku, and Kairi's eyes were all wide in surprise as they finished the story.

"Howard decided to be smart and put her in a psychiatric facility after that," Tobias admitted.

"She stabbed four people her first night in," Vanitas said. "I don't think she's ever leaving that place."

"Now do you see why I tend to not talk about my family that much?" Tobias asked his wife.

"Yeah, I'm seeing good reason why," Sora's mom admitted.

"She sounds like female Michael Myers," Riku commented. "Except with guns."

"Hey, you got it right," Vanitas said with a smile, gesturing to Riku.

"Ah, V, and his horror," Tobias chuckled. "You never did give up the references."

"He never does," Sora added with a smirk. "We've gone on two journeys to other worlds, and he's done so many references to horror movies, I'm starting to understand them even though I've never watched them."

"Oh, do tell," Tobias said, gesturing to inside his house.

Tobias and Sora's mom led the way inside, soon followed by Sora and Vanitas. Riku and Kairi followed, but hung back a bit.

"That enough evidence for you?" Riku muttered.

"Yeah, I guess," Kairi admitted with a smirk. "He cares about his family, from what he's told us about his mom and sister... at least, the ones he's okay with calling family. And he and Sora are already such good friends, I'm sure this'll bring them closer."

"Sounds good," Riku said. "'Cause if you and Sora ever get married, that means that Vanitas and his family will technically become your family."

Kairi's eyes widened in horror at the thought. Riku laughed at the sight as they followed the others inside, closing the door behind them. *** _1_ ***

* * *

In the following weeks of them being back at the islands, things sort of calmed down as the impact of Sora, Riku, and Kairi being home again finally sunk in. During that time, Sora and Vanitas even started to grow on the fact that they were cousins. It helped that Tobias let him sleep in the guest bedroom during his time there. During his stay, Vanitas joined Sora, Riku and Kairi as they did all kinds of activities together, from video games, to movie nights, to trips to the play island out in the distance.

At one point during this time, Vanitas even fulfilled his promise of helping teach the three of them how to drive.

"All right, keep your hands at the 10 and 2 positions," Vanitas told Sora as he sat in the driver's seat of his black 1967 Impala and RIku and Kairi sat in the back seat. "You look at the wheel like it's a clock. Put your left hand at the 10 o clock position, and your right hand at the two o clock position. Got it?" *** _2_ ***

Sora placed his hands at the right positions.

"Break is in the middle, you keep your right over it until you need to use the gas," Vanitas continued. "You only use the gas when you think it's okay to go faster, okay?"

"Gotcha," Sora said with a nod of the head. He looked at Vanitas. "But what if I crash the car?"

"That's why we're starting out in a cemetery," Vanitas said. "That way, if you crash the car and kill us all, it's convenient for them 'cause we're already here."

"That's actually a pretty good system," Riku said as he and Kairi chuckled.

"You think so?" Vanitas asked. "The guy I learned how to drive from, my friend, Frank in Traverse Town, when he taught me how to drive, and that was the very same system we used the first time we went on the road." *** _3_ ***

"Okay," Sora said, sitting up with a determined expression. "I think I'm ready."

"Okay, then turn the gear shift to 'D'," Vanitas said. "But keep your foot on the break as you do so."

Sora complied and grabbed a hold of the shift, following Vanitas's instructions and keeping his foot on the break. Once it was in drive, he felt that the car was ready to go, so he took his foot off the break, allowing it to slowly start to inch forward.

"Okay..." Vanitas said with an impressed nod of the head. "When you get comfortable enough, don't be afraid to add a little speed..."

Sora's response to that was to step on the gas pedal a little too hard, causing them to drive quickly through the graveyard and make Vanitas, Riku, and Kairi start yelling.

"Too much speed!" Kairi yelled.

Luckily, Sora didn't crash the car or run over any gravestones, but he did interrupt a funeral. That was mighty embarrassing for all of them.

It was just two weeks later that Sora and Vanitas went to the play island to find Riku sitting at the Paupu tree staring out at the sun in the distance. They ran across the wooden bridge and climbed over the tree, standing in front of it and leaning against it, with Sora placing his hands on the back of his head.

"Nothing's changed, huh?" Riku asked.

"Nope," Sora confirmed. "Nothing will."

"And maybe that's a good thing," Vanitas said. "It's the same, old home that you know and love."

"What a small world," Riku commented.

"But part of one that's much bigger," Sora added.

"Yeah," Riku agreed with a small smile.

After a second of silence, Sora looked up at the silver haired teen.

"Hey, Riku, what do you think it was, the door to the light?" he asked.

Riku climbed off of the tree with a small chuckle.

"This," he answered, pointing right in the middle of Sora's chest.

"This?" Sora asked, placing his hand to his chest.

"Yeah," Riku confirmed. "It's always much closer than you think."

"Our own connections to the light," Vanitas added. "So that we never lose our ways."

Sora smiled at his best friend and his cousin, content with their answers.

"Sora! V! Riku!" Kairi called out.

They all turned to see the redheaded girl running down the bridge, waving an arm. She ran up to them and leaned down, a little tired, covering the bottle she was carrying a bit.

"Hey, what's up?" Sora asked.

Kairi looked up at Sora.

"Look," she said, holding out the bottle.

They all looked down to see that it was a stereotypical message in the bottle. But this one had Mickey's crest on the paper.

"The King?" Sora asked, immediately taking the bottle.

"What does Mickey want?" Vanitas asked.

Sora opened the bottle and slipped out the paper, unfurling it and holding it up. Riku, Vanitas, and Kairi crowded around to read it with him.

' _I wanted to tell you right away, about memories from the past that sleep within you, and about the pieces that will tie you to your future_.' they read. ' _Sora, Riku, Kairi, V, the truth behind the Keyblade has found its way through so many people, and now I know that it rests in your hearts. Sora, you are who you are because of those people, V's old and closest friends, but they're hurting, and you and V are the only ones that can end their sadness. They need you both_.'

As they read, Vanitas had flashes back to his time as a Keyblade Wielder with Ventus, Terra, and Aqua at their old home of the Land of Departure, along with some involving his time with Roxas, Axel, and Xion on top of the clock tower, and even some images of Namine.

' _It's possible that all your journeys so far have been preparing you for this great new task that's waiting for you_ ,' they continued reading. ' _I should have known there were no coincidences, only links in a much larger chain of events. And now the door to your next journey is ready to be opened._ '

As they finished reading, Sora looked up at the sky in front of them in contemplation.

It took them a while of thinking about Mickey's letter, during which Sora sat down on top of the Paupu tree with the letter in hand, thinking about everything.

While he did that, Vanitas stood next to one of the trees on the small part of island, arms crossed as he contemplated things. If what Mickey was saying in his letter was right, and if the dreams he saw about them working through some datascape with a data Sora and Riku testing things out was right, then there was a chance that he and Sora could bring back everyone that Vanitas had lost. Just like that.

Of course, he knew that there had to be a catch. Things like this never happened without some kind of catch.

As if to prove his point, he gripped his head as the usual brain freeze pain started up, and he saw Mickey with Master Yen Sid. Mickey suggested that they were getting close to figuring out where Ventus's heart was, and Yen Sid contemplated what Xehanort's next move was. When Mickey was confused, Yen Sid started explaining that now that Ansem and Xemnas were destroyed, the road has been paved for Master Xehanort's return, and he ponders what they can do if they end up facing more than one of him. Both Mickey and Vanitas were confused by that, but Yen Sid that the king must get Sora and Riku so that they can show the Mark of Mastery.

Next, he saw Ansem the Wise's secret lab, with some of the original members sprawled across the floor. Now that both their Heartlesses and Nobodies were destroyed, Vanitas figured that that made them people again. Dilan, Aeleus, Even, Ienzo, Isa, and Lea were unconscious, but Braig was up and talking to a teen with silver hair that was strangely familiar to Vanitas. The teen said something about how Xehanort's Keyblade was one of the most ancient, and how it was his destiny, but it wasn't a reality yet. That made Vanitas figure the kid had something to do with Xehanort. Braig told him that he had his own plans and offered one of the apprentices for something he had going on, causing the teen to smirk.

Then the vision shifted one more time to the realm of darkness, the dark beach that the three of them had left after killing Xemnas. Ansem the Wise was there, draped in an Organization cloak for protection. Then Aqua showed up, and he started explaining to her how the worlds almost fell, but they were saved twice by a Keyblade Wielder. When she expressed distraught that it wasn't Terra or Ventus, Ansem explained to her about the research he had done with Sora, and that people were still waiting for their new beginning, their Birth By Sleep, from his help. When Aqua learned that it was Sora, with the help of Vanitas, she broke down into tears while smiling. She stared out at the water as her smile never wavered.

Vanitas was finally brought back to reality by Riku calling out, "Sora. V."

The cousins looked over their shoulders to see the silver haired teen walking down the rest of the bridge onto mini island with them.

"Riku," Sora said from his position on the tree.

"Hey, man," Vanitas said.

Riku stepped up next to the tree and stared out at the water.

"Your mind's made up?" Riku asked Sora. "You're gonna help V get them back?"

Sora stared out at the water with him and nodded his head.

"Yeah," he confirmed with a smile.

Vanitas couldn't even begin to explain how happy that made him. He joined his friend and cousin in staring out at the water, hope at finally seeing his friends again soon growing in his chest.

As they stared out at the water and the sun, none of them noticed Kairi walking onto the mini island with them and standing next to the tree, looking up at Sora.

"Sora," she greeted, getting the boys' attentions.

"Kairi," Sora said, climbing down off the tree as Kairi kept smiling at him. "I..."

She nodded her head, emphasizing for him to continue. He nodded his head back and walked up to her.

"It's just... they really need me," Sora said. "I have to go. I am who I am... because of them. And you've heard V's stories. They're like family to him."

"Except he actually loves them," Kairi quipped.

The four of them shared a small laugh. Riku nodded in agreement to Sora's words, and Kairi smiled in agreement with a small chuckle. She then took her lucky charm back out and put it in Sora's hand once more.

"See you soon," Kairi said.

"We'll be back before you know it," Vanitas promised. "And I'll make sure to bring them back in better shape than they are now."

"I'll hold you to that," Kairi said, pointing a finger at Vanitas in mock seriousness.

The four shared a laugh together before the boys started getting ready for the journey ahead...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Yep! In this universe with the added Vanitas, he's Sora's older cousin. I know that a lot of people wanted them to be siblings (like, a lot), but that just doesn't work with what I've got planned for Vanitas. I still wanted them to be related, though, so, we're going the cousin route. And don't say it's not possible for cousins to look exactly alike. In one of the earlier (aka better) Ben 10 shows, they gave Gwen a cousin that looked exactly like her but with darker hair. So, it is possible
> 
> Also, the thing about that crazy cousin, Amelie, is another thing I added when I was thirteen, but something to show how earlier versions of Vanitas never spent Thanksgiving with his family anymore. With how dysfunctional his family is in this series, it actually works here a bit
> 
> *2 That car is the car from Supernatural. I love that show. Why does it have to end? ;-; (emojis aren't working)
> 
> *3 That was also the system my dad used when he was teaching me how to drive. We shared a laugh over it
> 
> Up next is when they meet with Yen Sid and go through the Mark of Mastery stuff, but Vanitas won't be able to assist them in that. It's their Mark of Mastery test, so he has no place to intervene. But since these stories mostly revolve around Vanitas, that doesn't exactly mean he's down for the count. You'll see what I mean...


	2. The Mark of Mastery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Master Yen Sid explains the conditions for Sora and Riku's makeshift Mark of Mastery exams, while Vanitas decides it's finally time to rectify another big problem of his

It didn't take the three long to prepare. Vanitas just had to grab his sling and slip it on over the green jacket he also had on, but Riku stopped to get a trim first. Vanitas didn't understand exactly why he needed one, but he shrugged it off. Not too long after, the Gummi ship had arrived, piloted by Donald, Goofy, and Mickey, with the first two dressed in their royal garb instead of their usual clothes. They climbed inside the ship and settled in for the flight.

Within hours, they were at the Mysterious Tower, Yen Sid's home. They went up the stairs and entered his chamber. Following his instructions of wanting to speak to Sora and Riku, the two of them stepped in front of the desk while Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas stood to the side.

Yen Sid started explaining. "Long ago, in the age of fairy tales, the World was filled with light, a gift, many believed, from an unseen power known as 'Kingdom Hearts'. You see, Kingdom Hearts was protected by it's counterpart, the 'χ-blade', so that none could ever lay hands on its mysteries. But in time, the World was overrun by legions who wanted the light all for themselves, and the first shadows were cast upon the land. These warriors crafted 'Keyblades' in the image of the original χ-blade, and waged a great war over Kingdom Hearts. We call this the 'Keyblade War'. But though the war extinguished all light from the World, the darkness could not reach the brightness inside every child's heart. With that light, the World was remade as we know it today, with countless smaller worlds shining like stars in the sky. As for the real χ-blade, it did not survive the battle. The two elements that created it, one of darkness and one of light, shattered into twenty-one pieces: eight of light; thirteen of darkness."

Vanitas nodded his head during Yen Sid's story, as with each word that the former Keyblade Master spoke, the memories of the story came back to him. In his head, he was hearing another voice tell the story at the same time Yen Sid was. This one was familiar to him, and not just because it sounded like Mark Hamill. *** _1_ ***

Yen Sid continued, "As for the source of all light, the one true Kingdom Hearts, it was swallowed by darkness, never to be seen again. As long as it remains there, even the brightest world will have its dark corners. After all, light begets darkness, and darkness is drawn to light. For this reason, some decided to use the Keyblade, a weapon designed to conquer the light, to defend the light instead. These were the first wielders of the Keyblade."

Riku gripped his right hand into a fist as Yen Sid finished his tale.

After a small pause to compose himself, Yen Sid decided to get to the main reason why he called them there.

He started a new tale, "As a Keyblade Master, Xehanort had a gift like few others. But such great minds are often plagued by a single great question. What is the essence of the human heart that weakens us, or empowers us? The answer, he believed, would be found in the 'Keyblade War'. What if the challenges of our past were, in fact, a map to the light and darkness that battles within us all? Xehanort had to know, so he renounced his duties as master and chose the seeker's life. Since then, in many a guise, he has clashed with the protectors of the light... Keyblade Wielders like yourselves."

"Three times with me," Vanitas said. "First time, I was with Terra, Ven, and Aqua, and we lost. Horribly."

Sora and Riku winced as they once again remembered what had happened to Vanitas so long ago.

"And mark my words... he will trouble us yet again," Yen Sid said.

"Of course he will..." Vanitas sighed out, looking down with his eyes closed.

"We must be ready," Yen Sid announced. "Which is why you, Sora and Riku, are to be tested for the mark of a true Keyblade Master. No doubt you fancy yourselves masters already..."

"Actually, V kind of already told us that we're not," Sora said.

"Said it takes years of training," Riku added.

"I'll admit, it still surprises me considering the feats you guys have accomplished," Vanitas commented.

After all, Riku had saved Sora and himself from Xemnas during that final battle, he had helped Sora save all worlds twice, and both Sora and Riku had sliced or shattered _buildings_ to pieces with single strikes with their Keyblades. And they didn't even have entirely sharp ends.

"Yes, Vanitas is true about that," Yen Sid agreed. "Only a true master can teach you the proper way. And unfortunately, without his Keyblade, Vanitas can't do it."

Vanitas nodded his head solemnly. After Yen Sid had said that they must be ready, he already started thinking about what he could to prepare himself. And he was definitely gonna need to be prepared against Xehanort, if his copies, Ansem and Xemnas, were anything to go by.

"Both of you are self-taught Keyblade wielders, an impressive feat," Yen Sid admitted. "However, the time has come for you to let go of preconceived notions; forget what you know about the Keyblade, and begin your training again with a clean slate."

Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all exclaimed in surprise at that. Vanitas wasn't that surprised. He had seen in a dream just a few nights prior that he knew some things with swords when he had started his Keyblade training thanks to toy lightsabers when he was a kid. But his master had told him to forget what I knew with that stuff and follow his training instead. It was a good training system that helped him a lot.

Sora didn't have the same opinion, though.

"But that's a formality, right?" Sora asked. "I already proved myself. Me, V and the King, and Riku, we can take on anything." He looked up at his taller friend. "Right, Riku?"

Riku, in turn, was looking down in contemplation.

"I don't know," he admitted. He held out a hand. "I think that in my heart..." He summoned his old weapon, the dragon sword, Soul Eater. "Darkness still has a hold."

He dismissed the blade and lowered his hand.

"Walking that path changed me," Riku said. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to wield a Keyblade. Maybe I do need to be tested."

"Riku..." Sora said. He looked at Yen Sid. "Then count me in. Put me through the test! Just watch, me and Riku will pass with flying colors!"

Sora placed his hands on the back of his head with a smile, while Mickey, Donald, and Goofy shared contemplative looks.

' _Dicks_ ,' Vanitas thought, looking from his animal friends to his cousin. He was sure that the two of them could pass the test easily. After everything they had been through, then passing the test should be no problem for them.

"Very well, then," Yen Sid said as Sora lowered his arms. "Sora and Riku, let your examination begin."

"So, how're you gonna help out, V?" Sora asked.

"Sorry, buddy," Vanitas said. "This is one I can't help you guys out in."

"What?" Sora asked.

"This is your Mark of Mastery exam, not mine," Vanitas said. "I already took mine and passed years ago. Nothing I can do here. But, since we need all hands on deck for this adventure, I know of something I can do."

"What's that?" Riku asked.

"I'll explain once the big guy's finished explaining," Vanitas said, gesturing to Yen Sid.

"If we are ever to strike down Xehanort, we need the individuals King Mickey spoke of in his letter, Vanitas's lost friends," Yen Sid continued. "We must lead them out of sorrow and slumber, and back to our world. To do so, seven Sleeping Keyholes must be found and unlocked, and a great power achieved. As you know, every world is walled off from the next, preventing travel between them. In the past, you could bridge these gaps because the walls were broken, or because you could open special lanes with your Keyblades. But your new goals, the 'Sleeping Keyholes', are harder to reach."

He looked at Sora.

"You'll recall, in your first journey, that you brought back many worlds from the darkness, but some never returned completely," Yen Sid continued. "They still sleep, cut off from all outside channels. Not even the Heartless can enter."

He waved a hand with light over it.

"But these Sleeping Worlds are said to have their own manner of darkness," Yen Sid said as light started to glow on the table.

The light made into a circle showing the image of a small animal that appeared to be... a combination of a dog and a cat. Vanitas had to admit, it would have been cute if it wasn't purple and black with red eyes.

"They are called 'Dream Eaters', and there are two kinds," Yen Sid explained. "'Nightmares', which devour happy dreams..."

Vanitas figured that the black Dream Eater was the Nightmare. Another light glowed, revealing a copy of that Dream Eater next to it, this one he could tell was nicer since it was sky blue, pink, yellow and white, with friendly yellow eyes.

"And benevolent 'Spirits,' which consume the nightmares," Yen Sid continued explaining. As he said his next words, the Spirit rolled along the floor in an adorable manner. "The Dream Eaters will guide you, just as the Heartless once guided you, to the Keyhole you seek at the heart of each world."

"What's this Dream Eater called?" Vanitas asked, curious.

"It is referred to as, a Meow Wow," Yen Sid said.

"Can I have one?" Vanitas asked.

Yen Sid, and most of the people in the room raised an eyebrow at Vanitas.

"It's adorable!" Vanitas exclaimed, gesturing to the projection of the Spirit. *** _2_ ***

Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had to admit, Vanitas had a point.

"In the Sleeping Worlds, real time does not flow," Yen Sid told Sora and Riku. "Unless one restores the world by waking it from its slumber, it will stay locked in a dream forever. Thus, you may encounter familiar faces, but they are just figments of the dream. In actuality, they are sound asleep, trapped within a world that is also sleeping. What's more, whilst someone may no longer dwell in the real version of a world, dreams may paint a fuller picture, and restore what seems to be missing. One dream is connected to another, which means we must choose in which 'Sleeping World' you will begin. I will return you to the Destiny Islands just before they were swallowed by the darkness and plunged into sleep. Once dreams take you, you must let them guide you to the Sleeping Worlds. As there are seven pure hearts of light, there are seven 'Sleeping Keyholes'. Unlocking these will both grant you new powers, and free the worlds from their wakelessness."

Vanitas nodded his head as he understood the stakes for his friends' test.

Yen Sid looked up at Sora and Riku. "Complete this task, and return here safely, and I will name you both... true masters."

Sora and Riku nodded their heads at the task before them.

"So, what are you gonna do, V?" Sora asked.

"I'm gonna do something that I should have done months ago," Vanitas said. "I'm gonna use my powers to get my memories back. Healers at Asgard told me themselves that once I could get back my life force, that I'd get back my powers, and that'd help me get back my Keyblade. And I'm really gonna need it."

He breathed in and out as he remembered seeing battles he had done against Xehanort on a world called Castle of Dreams and another called Deep Space.

"If we're really gonna stand a chance against Xehanort, we're gonna need all hands on deck," Vanitas continued. "And since I fought him first, there's probably something in my memories that'll give us an advantage. And maybe there's something that'll help us find Terra, Ven, and Aqua."

"All right," Riku said with a nod of the head. "How are you gonna do that?"

"I've got an idea," Vanitas admitted. He put a hand on Donald and Goofy's shoulders. "These guys can help me out."

"We can?" Donald asked.

"Yeah," Vanitas said. He looked at Sora and Riku. "Good luck in the dream world, guys."

"Good luck with getting your memories back," Sora said.

Vanitas nodded at his cousin and friend, who nodded back. He then led the way out of the chamber into the room they had met the three fairies in. There, Vanitas found a chair that he sat down in.

"How are we supposed to help you?" Goofy asked.

"Give me a sec," Vanitas said, placing down his sling and pulling his satchel out of it.

"What, do you have a recipe for helping you get your memories back in there?" Donald asked.

"Sort of," Vanitas said, rummaging through the bag for a bit.

He then pulled out a yellow book. Upon closer inspection, Donald and Goofy saw that the title was " _Amnesiac Psychics Getting Their Memories Back By Using Their Powers For Dummies_." *** _3_ ***

"They really will make a book for anything," Donald commented.

"You have no idea," Vanitas said, flipping through the pages. "Here we are."

He set the book down on the table and pressed a pencil over the center, keeping it as a bookmark.

"'For a telepath to get back their memories, they must go into a strong slumber while in deep pain, focusing entirely on activating their powers'," Vanitas read out. "That's where you guys come in."

"How do you mean?" Goofy asked.

"The great pain part, I can't do to myself," Vanitas said. "As much as you guys probably won't like this, this process is definitely gonna hurt. A lot. No matter how much I yell or scream in pain at first, don't try to wake me up. This process is gonna take a while. A long one, so I can't be bothered. No matter how much I appear to be in pain, don't try to help me. Got it?"

Goofy muttered in anguish, not liking this plan, before saying, "Okay..."

"All right, we won't do anything to try to wake you up," Donald said.

"Good," Vanitas said. "But there's something else."

"What?" Donald asked.

"You guys need to knock me out," Vanitas said.

"What???" Donald and Goofy exclaimed in confusion.

"My powers are still wonky since I don't remember how to use them, so I can't punch myself in the face hard enough," Vanitas said. "I need you to hit me in the face."

"I don't know about this..." Donald said.

So, Vanitas decided to go route of surprising him into attacking.

"Hit me, you fucking pussy!" Vanitas exclaimed. *** _4_ ***

Donald exclaimed in surprise, reached into Vanitas's sling, and pulled out the aluminum bat. He swung it hard, hitting Vanitas right in the face, breaking his nose, causing blood to pool out, and knocking his head to the side.

"...Ow," Vanitas simply said before falling back in the chair, slumping down in unconsciousness.

"Sorry," Donald said, wincing as he put the bat back in the sling.

"Well, he wanted you to knock him out," Goofy rationalized.

"I just hope he'll be okay..." Donald sighed out.

"Like he said, the screaming and yelling is gonna be normal," Goofy comforted Donald by placing a hand on his shoulder. "I think..."

Vanitas then started shaking in his chair, much to the surprise of Donald and Goofy since his eyes were still closed. He kept twitching in the chair, muttering incoherent words. After a little while, Vanitas swung back, placing his back against the back of his chair, gripping onto the arm rests as he looked directly up at the ceiling. He then started yelling and didn't stop for a good while, making Donald and Goofy cover their ears. Once he finally stopped yelling, his eyes opened, showing that they were glazed over.

Donald and Goofy walked over to his prone form, waving hands over his eyes to see that he was completely unresponsive. Vanitas's eyes slowly slid shut, to their reliefs. It was a little creepy to see him with his eyes open even though they knew he was asleep.

"What do we do now?" Goofy asked.

"Now, I guess we just wait," Donald answered.

The two walked back towards Master Yen Sid's chamber with worried expressions on their faces, hoping Vanitas wasn't in too much pain...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 I had no idea Mark Hamill voiced Eraqus until about a year ago. That's how observant I am with this shit. Play a video game I love for eight years, and not even notice that there's a character voiced by an actor who I love from Star Wars
> 
> *2 God, I still have a hard time comprehending how adorable those Spirits can be. Also, I had some difficulty keeping track of how many I had and how many names I had to give out. I always kept the first name of the Spirit and do a name starting with that letter. But if there were two words and one worked as a title, I kept the title and gave them a random name. Like, Chef Kyroo was Chef Bill, Kamory Bat was Kenny, Sir Kyroo was Sir Ron, and Escargo I named Eduardo. I made sure to be diverse
> 
> *3 That shouldn't be any surprise after that one scene in Guardians Vol 1. Vanitas just loves the otherworldly "...For Dummies" books
> 
> *4 The original idea was for Vanitas to pull out chicken legs and start eating them in front of Donald, saying they were duck when they weren't. This was admittedly a nicer way. Surprising Donald was better than pissing him off. Especially like that


	3. Truth and Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas uses his powers to get back his memories, but ends up seeing much more than just his memories...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said in II, the original plan was for Vanitas's voice to change from the deep tone back to the mid way tone with this chapter, after he got back his memories. But like I said, that wouldn't have made any damn sense, so I changed it to when he got back his life force

To say Vanitas saw more than he wanted was an understatement.

He expected his visions to start at his period of being an apprentice to his Keyblade Master, but they began much, much more longer ago.

They began at the dawn of time, when creation had exploded into existence with the Big Bang and released the Infinity Stones and Kingdom Hearts, like that weirdo, The Collector, had mentioned. From there, things progressed to make up the universe, forming the entirety of the world that was known back in the Age of Fairy Tales. A prominent place in the world was Daybreak Town, where Keyblade Wielders trained to become masters.

The most prominent Master was the Master of Masters, whose identity was forever hidden underneath his black coat. He had six apprentices, Ira, Invi, Aced, Gula, Ava, and Luxu. Luxu wore a black coat just like the Master of Masters, while the others wore robes and masks that covered half their faces. Ira's mask was that of a unicorn, Invi's was that of a serpent, Aced's was that of a bear, Gula's was that of a leopard, and Ava's was that of a wolf.

Each of the apprentices was given a Book of Prophecies so they could prepare for the future and fulfill the roles given to them by their Master. The Master of Masters each of them prepare for in case he left them alone: Luxu was to take his Keyblade, the Gazing Eye, and a black box and leave the town. He would hide the box away and pass his Keyblade down to a worthy successor. The other five, toe foretellers, would form up their own unions of Keyblade apprentices and teach them their ways. Their trainees upgraded their Keyblades by gathering Lux, or light, and absorbing them in their Keyblades by going to unique worlds and fighting off Heartless.

But of course, there was a catch. The Book of Prophecies foretold a war that would happen between all of the unions, which would lead to the destruction of the world. Their unions were to train separately, never together. On the bright side, the students were all given Dream Eaters called Chirithy, who act as their companions, oversee their progress, and provide guidance.

Vanitas had to admit, the second he saw a Chirithy, he wanted one of them, too.

What made things sad was that if a Keyblade Wielder fell to darkness or disappeared, their Chirithy would disappear, too.

If the Master of Masters were to disappear, the five unions had to keep training separately. Ira would lead his apprentice-mates as they led their unions even further. Invi would support his leadership and keep them all in line. Aced was to take over if Ira ever showed signs that he couldn't do it. Gula would keep it hidden from the others that there would be a traitor in one of the unions and look for them himself. Ava was to form a little group called the Dandelions. She would get the wielders from each of the unions that showed the most promise and have keep them from participating from the war, so that they could guide the future themselves since there was a very high chance there'd be very few survivors of Daybreak Town left.

Eventually, and unsurprisingly, the Master of Masters soon disappeared after Luxu, leaving the unions to work together on their own.

Things went surprisingly well.

At first.

Pretty soon, Ira discovered a darkened Chirithy, which was evidence showing that someone in one of the unions had fallen to darkness, and was a traitor. The news of a traitor caused turmoil among the group. Ira and Invi knew that the news of a traitor would further divide their groups, and they were gonna try to keep the balance, since they were all determined to prevent the Keyblade War. Aced tried to get Gula and Ava to join him in merging their unions, which wasn't allowed, so they could work together. Gula agreed as part of his plan to find the traitor and take them out himself, but Ava denied joining, not wanting to go against the Master of Master's wishes.

Along the way, Vanitas also saw bits involving a young boy named Ephemer making a friend in another union, along with a different friend he had, Skuld. Ephemer was eager to learn about the Book of Prophecies from Ava, but she managed to evade all of his questions. Unbeknownst to some of his friends, Ava had given pieces of the book to five prominent Dandelions, as a way for them to help lead them once the war was over.

After a little while of searching, Gula decided to call it quits with his alliance with Aced, who was understandably furious. Even more so when Gula accidentally slip that Invi gave him the idea. Aced attacked Invi, who fought back with Gula and Ava's help. This gave the Masters all the evidence they needed to decide that Aced was the traitor, but they let him limp back to his corners. Gula decided to confront Aced, during which he let it slip that he knew there'd be a traitor the whole time but didn't say anything. That made Aced even madder than he already was, so he attacked and overpowered Gula, but Ava showed up and saved him before Aced could do too much damage.

Aced soon stumbled into Ira, who he told about Gula's actions, but didn't entirely believe that it was his role from the Master of Masters. Ira agreed to work with Aced, and went off to try to find Gula.

Gula and Ava managed to hide away, and Gula confided in Ava his plan to get more Lux to try to summon Kingdom Hearts. Ava exclaimed that they were forbidden from doing so, and Gula defended his actions by saying that it would get the Master of Masters' attention, so he could come back and help them. Invi then confronted Ava about her getting the best wielders from the unions, and she told her about how it was her role. She was preparing them for after the war.

Pretty soon, the friend that Ephemer had made and Skuld learned about the Dandelions from Ava, and Skuld quickly joined while the friend was hesitant. The friend ended up breaking up a fight between two wielders, before they were quickly forced into battle with Aced. Aced beat the friend and said that they were banished from the union, even though that wielder wasn't in Aced's faction. Ira then appeared and tried calming him down, but then Aced announced that he was gonna overthrow Ira and take control over all five of the factions, which the Master of Masters had ordered them not to do. It didn't matter anymore. Aced was drunk on his own power.

During this, a Dandelion girl named Strelitzia had been watching the friend from afar, developing a small crush. And like most cases when someone develops a crush, she was too nervous to try to talk to the friend. Strelitzia was one of the Dandelions that was granted part of the Book of Porphecies, so she'd be helping lead the union once the war was over. She then gasped in surprise, realizing that she didn't know if the friend was in the Dandelions or not. So, despite the friendly banter from her Chirithy, went to a shop that she had remembered seeing the friend and Skuld go into.

Strelitzia entered the darkened shop and tried looking around for anyone inside, but was soon struck with a Keyblade by an unseen assailant. The assailant took the part of the Book of Prophecies Strelitzia had dropped, while the girl stumbled towards the still open door. Weakly, Strelitzia expressed that she wished she had the courage to talk to the friend, before she and Chirithy disappeared into light, her heart flying up into the air and disappearing. *** _1_ ***

The war officially started when Ava met up with Luxu on the outskirts of town. The two clashed with their Keyblades, and the impact of their blades caused a massive shockwave that sent the bells in the clock tower ringing, the official beginning of the war.

Just days passed, and the five foretellers gathered at the Badlands with all of their apprentices. The battle began, and the wielders fought to the bone. The friend themself ended up battling four of the foretellers, and limped away with the metaphorical scars to show for it. As the battle waged on, wielders started dropping left to fight. As they died, their hearts flew up into the air to form a version of Kingdom Hearts, while the Keyblades flew up into the air and embedded themselves into the ground. The battle was a veritable hell, and pretty soon, there were enough blades in the ground to form a four way plus shaped road in the desert, and the five foretellers had vanished.

The friend was semi conscious in the middle of the intersection of roads, staring up into the sky woozily. Pretty soon, Skuld and Ephemer walked to their semi conscious form and consoled them, congratulating them on surviving. Light flashed, and the friend found themself waking up in a grassy field being told by their Chirithy that the war was just a dream. Like all the other Dandelions, they had no memory of the war at all.

The friend went back into daybreak town while Ephemer and Skuld went into what was now the Keyblade Graveyard, where they were to meet with the other Dandelions granted parts of the Book of Prophecies by Ava. They were to be the new foretellers, so they were the only ones that kept their memories. Pretty soon, the other Dandelions set out to be the new foretellers started arriving, and Vanitas was shocked by the first person to arrive.

It was Ventus. Dressed in his same black and white jacket with a red collar over a partly buttoned up shirt and black turtle neck, shorts that were three different shades of grey, white wristband with checkered black and white patterns, and metal shoes. That made no sense to Vanitas, because this was the Age of Fairy Tales he was seeing, possibly hundreds of years ago. How the hell was Ventus alive back then?

Vanitas didn't have time to ponder that question because another new foreteller showed up. A dark haired young man named Brain dressed in a black fedora, a black v neck, and a black leather jacket. Vanitas immediately liked this guy because he looked like he belonged in Fall Out Boy.

But then Vanitas once more saw what had happened to Stelitzia, with the vision seemingly intentionally concealing who it was that had struck her down. That just helped fuel his suspicions of the arrival of the final foreteller. This one was a boy dressed in black and white with red pants. But his familiar pink hair was what garnered Vanitas's attention. The young man introduced himself as Lauriam, confirming that he was Marluxia's Somebody.

Vanitas had already seen from the earlier visions that Ava had confirmed Ephemer and Skuld as two of the new foretellers, so that meant one of the other three was a fraud, possibly the traitor that the original foretellers was looking for. Vanitas immediately suspected Lauriam after everything the man had put Sora through as Marluxia.

Things progressed as the new foretellers moved into the old foretellers' meeting room, setting up new systems for what they were to do with their unions. During this, Vanitas saw that Maleficent was active in Enchanted Dominion, having travelled back to the past after Ansem had used the Keyblade of Darkness to release her heart back in Hollow Bastion during their first journey. But someone in a black coat revealed to her that the Master of Masters had trapped her in a fantasy world in a Book of Prophecies, and decided to send her back to her own time. Of course, she ended up knocking down Laurium as she stole the key back to her own time before disappearing.

Vanitas then saw Lauriam searching for Strelitzia, who he revealed to be his sister, with help from a girl named Elrena, Larxene's Somebody. Vanitas then felt guilty for automatically assuming it was Lauriam as the pink haired boy shared his problems with the other new foretellers.

Things then shifted to show something Vanitas never thought he'd end up seeing. Ever.

He saw Stelitzia get struck down again, but this time, he was able to make out the shadowy figure as they picked up her part of the Book of Prophecies. It might have been dark, they might have been shrouded in darkness, and their eyes might have been yellow, but Vanitas was able to recognize the familiar blonde hair. Ventus had struck down Strelitzia. *** _2_ ***

It was then that he saw more of Ventus's time in the past. Darkness had taken the form of Ava, telling him that he was to be the leader of a union. That same darkness possessed him and used his body to strike down Strelitzia before taking her pages of the Book of Prophecies. Eventually, Brain and Ventus figured out the truth, about he wasn't chosen after all.

Pretty soon, Lauriam's search ended up taking a strain on the darkness hiding the truth from Ventus, and he ended up seeing in his dreams what had happened to Strelitzia. He saw in full detail as the darkness used his body to strike her down and steal her part of the Book. He broke down in tears at the news and revealed the truth to the others. Needless to say, Lauriam was pissed. Lauriam demanded to know what happened, but trying to remember left Ventus wracked with pain on the ground as the darkness revealed itself to the others.

Then, the visions changed into something completely different, which made no sense to Vanitas at all.

He ended up seeing his world, Earth 475, around the start. Turns out, on that version of Earth, things were like the Percy Jackson books. The Greek Gods were all alive and lived for thousands of years, still having babies with mortals. By the 20th century, there was a Camp Half Blood like sanctuary for all demigods hidden in America.

Unfortunately, the gods weren't alone on the world. Not only were there monsters and demons, but there were humans that were born with powers, that lived in hiding and saw themselves as gods. These people referred to themselves as Enhanced, and had a grudge match with the Greek Gods, believing themselves as the next stage. But the Enhanced wanted to tear apart everything that the gods had built, so the gods had their children fight back.

But it didn't end up being a battle. It was a blood bath. Every demigod and every Enhanced to exist on the planet fought each other, and they weren't pleasant. The Enhanced slaughtered all the demigods, and vice versa. When the gods saw it happen, when they saw all of their children murdered just to protect what they had built, they all felt guilty. They decided that they didn't want to watch their children die anymore. With that, a pact was enabled that the gods would never have babies with mortals anymore.

Naturally, that meant someone would find it hard to keep it in their pants.

Surprisingly, after what he had heard about the god, Zeus ended up keeping true to the pact, and never went to another mortal woman.

The pact was broken when the god Ares met Vanitas's mother, Rochelle.

Ares saw Rochelle as a true warrior of a woman, and visited her three times, desperate to see her again. But, he decided to change his appearance each time as a way to hide her from whatever was out there. It was during his second visit with her that he told her the truth about monsters and what was out there, so she could be prepared just in case anything happened. After the third time he visited her, Zeus and everyone else found out, and he agreed not to see her anymore.

Of course, each visit had a consequence. And those consequences ended up being each of Rochelle's children, Jack, Vanitas, and Eliza. As children of Ares, the three of them just knew how to fight like a second instinct, and knew how to use whatever weapon they picked up. But Vanitas was an exception. He wasn't just a demigod; he was a demigod and en Enhanced, the only one born in the history of Olympus and the history of the Enhanced. That was why he had so many powers, from the pyrokinetics, to the telekinesis, to the telepathy, to the visions, to being able to sense the levels of light and darkness in everyone around him. That made him a perfect candidate to be chosen by a Keyblade, which was exactly what happened. *** _3_ ***

Vanitas had to admit, it was good to finally learn who his dad was, and understand why he left and never came back, but that didn't excuse the fact he was never straight with his mother. The least he could of done was explain why they had to be prepared in case the monsters or Enhanced came after them.

But under that, there was also a sense of happiness and dread. Happy because that meant he and his siblings weren't half siblings, but complete siblings. That meant that Eliza was his sister, not his half sister. But dread for the same reason. That meant that Jack was his _brother_ , not his half brother.

Then the visions changed to show the progress of the Luxu's Keyblade, the Gazing Eye, throughout its lifetime, soon finding itself in Scala Ed Caelum, the world that Eraqus and Xehanort learned how to be Keyblade wielders in. Xehanort was passed down the Gazing Eye, but like Yen Sid said, chose the life of the Seeker when he wanted to learn the reasons for the light.

Unfortunately, that led to Xehanort believing that the worlds had fallen to the "tyranny of light," imbalancing the order. The Master of Masters appearing and showing him the Keyblade Graveyard didn't help things. The Master of Masters encouraged Xehanort to do what he felt he should do, giving the young boy a black coat to protect himself from darkness. That was part of the reason he was willing to risk an apocalypse with another Keyblade War, not just to see if he would be worthy of the light, but to reset the universe, no matter how many people died along the way.

Time passed, a _lot_ of time, during which Xehanort and Eraqus had voiced their differences, which led to the latter's scars. Pretty soon, Xehanort had found Ventus, and decided to use him in an attempt to bring about the χ-blade himself. This failed because at this point, Ventus's memories of his former life at Daybreak Town were all gone, so he wasn't strong enough anymore. Once Ventus was knocked out by Neoshadows, Xehanort had extracted the darkness from within him, releasing it and leading to the creation of Dark Vanitas.

With Ventus broken by his forced separation from Dark Vanitas, Xehanort took the boy to his old home of Destiny Islands, laying him down on the big Paupu tree. While he slept, Ventus had a Dive to the Heart, during which his heart connected to a newborn heart. The Heart of Sora. Sora and Ventus's hearts connected, and Sora restored what Ventus had lost, making him strong enough to regain his Keyblade, though he didn't remember what had happened with Xehanort and Dark Vanitas. Although, apparently, it also ended up influencing Dark Vanitas, which is why he looked just like Sora and Vanitas.

Xehanort had left Ventus with Eraqus at the Land of Departure, where he met Aqua, Terra, and Vanitas. Terra had caught Xehanort's interest because he knew that his old body wouldn't survive the trek of time that would most likely pass before his Keyblade War would happen. So, he needed a vessel. And once he saw Terra and the potential there was in the young man, he decided that he had found his vessal.

The years had passed, during which Vanitas had become a Keyblade Master, and Ventus, Terra, and Aqua trained to become Masters. Vanitas had had a mindset to not use his powers too much because he was knew of the saying, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." He didn't want that to happen to himself, so he decided to minimize his use of his powers. However, at the same time, he didn't completely follow Master Eraqus's desire to destroy all darkness, knowing that light and darkness had to keep balance.

But at the same time, Eraqus was determined to keep Ventus at the Land of Departure, figuring there had to be an angle to Xehanort dropping him off there.

The day before Terra and Aqua's Mark of Mastery exams, Vanitas had landed on Earth 616, helping out Carol Danvers as she found out who she was, then saved a bunch of Skrulls from the Kree with the help of Nick Fury and her old friend, Maria Rambeau. Vanitas mentally laughed as he saw himself and Nick hanging out with Carol and the flerkin, Goose, then did it some more when he saw Fury get his eye scratched out by Goose and he suggested he lied about how it happened. Looks like Nick had followed his instructions.

Then the visions shifted to show the entirety of Vanitas's journey against Xehanort, not just from his perspective. He saw what Terra, Ventus, and Aqua had gone through during their journey, as well. Not only did Xehanort influence the Mark of Mastery exam to get Terra to release his darkness, he had Dark Vanitas plant seeds of doubt about Terra in Ventus's mind, worrying the blonde enough to follow the brunette into the Lanes Between. That had happened after Vanitas had met up with his villainous clone.

Eraqus sent Vanitas, Aqua, and Terra out to destroy monsters that had arrived in worlds, the Unversed, and the four left with their own personal missions. Terra left to find Xehanort, Ventus left to find Terra, and Aqua left to find Ventus and bring him home, while Vanitas left with the same orders, but was more interested in finding out the truth about Xehanort and Dark Vanitas. They had all gone to the same worlds at different times, destroying the Unversed as they searched for the people they were looking for. While he was at Castle of Dreams, Vanitas had fought a Dark Hunter and won, but then battled Xehanort and lost.

Xehanort had apprenticed Braig in Radiant Garden under the promise he'd bequeath the Gazing Eye to the sharpshooter, so he would help the old man in his plans. Xehanort then fed Terra a story about how he had tried saving Ventus by releasing Dark Vanitas, and sent Terra on a mission to destroy the clone. Once Xehanort and Terra left, Ventus arrived and clashed with Dark Vanitas. He was almost destroyed before Vanitas and Mickey intervened. The three fought Dark Vanitas together, who then left, before they got whisked away by Mickey's partly unreliable Star Shard.

The friends met up at Radiant Garden. Beforehand, Ventus had searched for Mickey, Terra went looking for Xehanort, Vanitas helped out some kids, and Aqua went looking for Terra. Aqua ended up at the front of the castle with Vanitas, where they met up with Mickey and saved a young Kairi from Unversed. Aqua cast a spell on Kairi so that if she ended up in danger, the light of her heart would lead her to the light of another. Mickey was then whisked away by the Star Shard, and Vanitas and Aqua went after a big Unversed. Vanitas was pulled away from the Unversed fight his three friends had done to battle Braig, before meeting up with his friends in the town reactor. Aqua ended up revealing Eraqus had sent herself and Vanitas to pretty much spy on Terra, and he left, understandably angry. He ended up battling Braig outside of town when the man pretended to have kidnapped Xehanort, during which Terra had unintentionally given into the old man's wishes and giving into darkness, which took out the man's eye. Ventus followed to try to find Terra, and Vanitas and Aqua ended up fighting Dark Vanitas in the town square. Once the battle was finished, Aqua declared she had to stop Dark Vanitas, making Vanitas think about how she shouldn't put too much pressure on herself with one job, completely oblivious to the fact he was doing the same thing by trying to take care of Xehanort himself. With pretty much everyone but Vanitas thinking that Ventus wasn't strong enough to handle things in the outside world, she ordered him to go home and left. While Vanitas went to get something to eat and met Scrooge McDuck, Ventus ended up meeting Lea and Isa, with the former getting him to fight him. The redhead told Isa that he wanted everyone he met to remember him, so he could live forever in their memories. Which was why he always asked, "Got it memorized?"

Ventus and Vanitas left the world and eventually went their separate ways, with Vanitas still looking for Xehanort as Ventus went to make more friends, going to worlds like Disney Town, Olympus Coliseum, and Deep Space. Terra ended up realizing how much he missed his friends while Aqua kept looking for the brunette. Vanitas had a rematch with both Braig then Xehanort, during which he unintentionally revealed his telekinesis. Pretty soon, Aqua and Vanitas ended up fighting Dark Vanitas on Neverland.

Then they each made their way to Destiny Islands. Terra had met young Sora and Riku and passed on the Keyblade to Riku, which ended up making the silver haired boy stronger than the average boy his age. That explained why he always beat Sora at everything...

Ventus ended up at Yen Sid's tower, where he learned from the man that Mickey was in danger, so he went to help him. He landed at the Badlands, and Xehanort explained the situation with the χ-blade, adding that Eraqus knew the truth and kept it from him. Under Xehanort's suggestion, Ventus went to confront Eraqus while Xehanort called Terra to the Badlands, telling him that Ventus had gone to confront their master. Once Ventus got back to the Land of Departure, Eraqus admitted how he knew about the χ-blade, and he couldn't let it exist. So, he summoned his Keyblade and attacked Ventus.

But Terra appeared at the last minute and saved Ventus. He sent Ventus to Destiny Islands before fighting Eraqus. Weakened from the battle, Eraqus never realized Xehanort sneak up behind him and strike him in the back, striking him down. Xehanort then cast darkness up in the sky, which tore apart the Land of Departure.

During this, Vanitas and Aqua had gone to Destiny Islands and met Sora and Riku, during which Aqua told Sora it was his job to always be there to help Riku in case he got lost. Once the boys left, Vanitas saw visions filling in the gaps for Xehanort's plan, which he shared with Aqua. He then saw Mickey unconscious in the Lanes Between, so Vanitas went to get Eraqus while Aqua went to save Mickey.

After they left, Ventus arrived on the Islands with Dark Vanitas, who told him to fight. Ventus refused to fight, so after he had a flashback of Dark Vanitas's "birth," Dark Vanitas threatened to take out Terra, Aqua, and Vanitas at the Keyblade Graveyard if he didn't.

Vanitas ended up at the Land of Departure and, in a fit of sorrow when realizing what had happened to Master Eraqus, threw a stone bench down the mountains. There, he met the young version of Xehanort, recruited by future Xehanort to help keep his destiny intact, dressed in a black coat. Young Xehanort summoned two Ethereal Blades, and fought Vanitas. The battle was long and difficult, but Vanitas managed to win. Young Xehanort taunted Vanitas about how he couldn't change things, but still told him to go to the Keyblade Graveyard.

Aqua had picked up Mickey and gone to Yen Sid's tower, where she learned about Eraqus's demise and Terra's involvement. She went to the Keyblade Graveyard herself to learn for herself and get Xehanort.

The four friends met up and were caught up on everything that the others didn't know involving the χ-blade, Dark Vanitas, and why Eraqus tried to destroy Ventus. Xehanort and Dark Vanitas showed up, and the four clashed with the two. Ventus was frozen and fell to the bottom of a large expanse with Aqua. Terra and Vanitas went on top of the expanse and fought with Xehanort and Dark Vanitas while Aqua fought Braig. Once Aqua beat Braig and Vanitas and Terra beat Xehanort and Dark Vanitas, Dark Vanitas jumped off the expanse and knocked out Aqua. Vanitas jumped off the expanse and fought Dark Vanitas with Ventus, while Terra fought Xehanort on top of the expanse.

Once they beat Dark Vanitas, the glass from his mask melted, showing how he looked exactly like Vanitas, and explaining how being separated from Ventus gave him control of all Unversed. He had Unversed hold down Vanitas and Ventus as he walked up to Ventus, and they forged the χ-blade.

When Xehanort saw that the χ-blade had been forged, he released his heart and sent it into Terra. Xehanort's body disappeared while Terra's dropped his Keyblade and armor, revealing his now silver hair, yellow eyes, and deep voice. Xehanort smiled and started to move forwards, but Terra's Lingering Will took ahold of his armor and Keyblade, fighting Xehanort, coming out victorious.

At the same time, Ventus had met up with Dark Vanitas in his heat, who had a broken form of the χ-blade. It was incomplete because Ventus still refused to join with Dark Vanitas. The two fought, even though Ventus knew if he destroyed the χ-blade, his heart would vanish. Ventus won, and the χ-blade shattered, causing the two's hearts to fall into slumber.

And at the same time as those battles, Vanitas and Aqua were healed by Mickey, and found Ventus's body possessed by Dark Vanitas and in position of the χ-blade. The three of them fought the dark clone, with the two Keyblade Masters coming out victorious. The destruction of the χ-blade caused a gigantic wave of light that transported every living organism to the Lanes Between. Terra's armor with the Lingering Will inside was left in the Keyblade Graveyard, with the promise that it'd set things right one day.

Mickey helped Aqua and Vanitas to Yen Sid's tower, where he explained that Ventus needed to be placed somewhere safe to rest while he searched for a friend. The two Masters placed him in the Land of Departure, and used Eraqus's Keyblade to lock the land away, changing it to Castle Oblivion. They then went in search of Terra.

They found Xehanort in Terra's body in Radiant Garden and fought the man, along with the shadow minion that he had made. The minion beat Vanitas mercilessly and damaged his Keyblade, but the Masters managed to beat Xehanort. Light gathered around Xehanort, but he placed his Keyblade to his chest, causing him to go woozy as a pool of darkness gathered on the ground around him. Xehanort fell into the pool and Aqua jumped after him, determined to not lose Terra's body to the darkness.

Still hurt from the attacks, Vanitas was left in the outside world. So, even though he was weak and his Keyblade was damaged, he used it to keep the dark portal open. Determined to protect what mattered, Vanitas used both hands, one holding the Wayfinder Aqua had given him, to keep open the portal. But he pushed the Keyblade too far, and it exploded right in his face, taking away his memories, powers, and life force, giving him his scar, but also destroying his Wayfinder.

Vanitas's help ended up not doing much. Aqua knew that both her and Terra's body couldn't get out together, so she sent it out with her armor and Keyblade, content with staying trapped in the realm of darkness.

Ansem the Wise then found Vanitas and Xehanort, and took them on as apprentices. During this, Xehanort did his own experiments of the heart, which led to sending Kairi off of the world so she could look for a Keyblade Master. Then Xehanort had turned on his other apprentices and released their hearts, leading to the Fall of Radiant Garden, and Vanitas leaving with Cid, Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie.

It turned out, when Xehanort had released his heart during that time, it travelled back through the past on its own to recruit his younger self to join his crusade, appearing as a man in a brown robe that Sora had met.

Things shifted to show young Sora and Riku again. Sora had his own mini dive, finding Ventus's heart once again. Not remembering how he had helped the blonde when he was born, Sora agreed to help Ventus once more. His heart flew into Sora's, content to sleep there until his time to wake up had come.

It turned out, during Vanitas's first adventure with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, Aqua had been fighting through hordes of Heartless in the realm of darkness, trying to find a way out. During which, she fought the Dark Hunter, Demon Towers, and even her own Phantom, all of which had lowered her self morale. Pretty soon, she met up with Mickey, who filled her in about the problems in the outside world, and how he was looking for the Keyblade of darkness.

While Vanitas and Sora fought off Ansem and his World of Chaos, Aqua and Mickey fought off the Demon Tide at the Destiny Islands. They won, but the Tide went off and hid. It came back after Mickey got the Kingdom Key D, and lunched at Riku as he ran towards the doors to Kingdom Hearts to help Sora and Vanitas. Aqua jumped between the Tide and Riku and got pulled away by it, back to Destiny Islands. The door vanished, so there was nothing Mickey could do to help her. All he could do was use the Keyblade to help Sora close the door.

Aqua was still trapped in the Realm of Darkness, but she was re-invigorated by both Mickey and an image of Terra that had shown to her while she fought off lots of Darksides.

But then things shifted to show Sora losing his heart again. Now Vanitas understood, with Ventus's heart inside Sora's, his appearance ended up influencing Roxas's when Sora became a Heartless. So Roxas looked exactly like Ventus. Roxas and Naminé were made into Nobodies, and with Naminé's first breath, she contacted Terra, encouraging him to keep up hope of seeing his friends again. He was reinvigorated in his desire to set things right.

Of course, Ventus also ended up influencing Xion and Naminé, as well. Since he was still in Castle Oblivion, that's where the two were "born." Xion was taken as part of the Replica Program, and Naminé was used in Marluxia and Larxene's plan to make Sora theirs. Vanitas once again saw his adventure with Sora through out the castle, along with Riku's in the castle basement. They took out the Organization there and Sora went into his slumber.

Once again, he saw his time with Roxas, Xion, and Axel, finally breaking out in tears as he was forced to relive Xion's demise. When Roxas returned to Sora, Vanitas met back up with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and he once again saw their adventure to stop the Organization. It ended like it had done before, and they all arrived back at the island.

Then he saw the mini adventure that Mickey and the others had had when they went through the datascape made by Jiminy's journal, trying to figure out a mysterious message. Maleficent and Pete interfered, as per usual, which led to a bunch of problems involving bugs, Data Riku, and Sora's Heartless. The two left the datascape, now determined to try to find the Book of Prophecies so they could change up the world in their favor. Meanwhile, the Data Sora and Mickey met up with a Data Roxas and a Data Naminé, who had explained that it was all a test to see if Sora could face the hurt of what had happened to everyone so he could help them. Since Data Sora could face the hurt, that meant that the real Sora could do it as well.

Then he saw them arriving at Yen Sid's tower once again, which didn't make a lot of sense since that was just today, by his calculations. But he was able to see much more, involving the Young Xehanort and Xigbar. They knew that Sora and Riku were gonna take the test through the Sleeping Worlds, so they rigged the whole thing, sending the two to the worlds themselves in a way to trap the two. Xigbar and revealed what the real purpose of Organization XIII was, to get thirteen vessels of darkness and hook them up to Kingdom Hearts to give them all the same heart and mind: Xehanort. All thirteen of the members were supposed to become Xehanort, forming the thirteen vessels of darkness.

That explained what the Organization had meant when they said that Xion would be a better vessel than Roxas by the end of her time of absorbing his powers.

During this, Axel had woken up, once again in his Somebody form of Lea, with the other apprentices, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo. He went in search of Isa and Braig, eventually helping Mickey and co when they had to go to Disney Castle. Turns out, Maleficent and Pete had kidnapped Minnie and were gonna use her as ransom, requesting the world data from Jiminy's journal. Lea appeared and helped, going with them back to Yen Sid's tower, offering his help. He said he wanted to be a Keyblade Wielder, surprising Donald, Goofy, and Mickey. Donald even yelled that he wouldn't be one, even though the duck didn't have the authority over that.

Lea went off to try to help while Mickey and Yen Sid realized that Xehanort had more power than they thought, so Mickey went off to try to help Sora and Riku.

Vanitas then saw Riku in conflict with the Young Xehanort in the Organization Round Room, who admitted that their original plan was to have Riku be used as the final vessel, but they moved on and decided to choose Sora instead. He was gonna be forced into being the thirteenth vessel for their Real Organization XIII.

Vanitas wasn't gonna let that happen to his cousin. He had to wake up, _now_. *** _4_ ***

* * *

Donald exclaimed in worry as he looked at the still unconscious form of Vanitas still in the chair. The King had left hours ago to try to help Sora and Riku in the dream world, and they hadn't heard anything yet. Worst of all, Vanitas's condition hadn't changed during the entire time that Minnie had been kidnapped, Lea explained his desire to help, and Mickey and Yen Sid discussed how powerful Xehanort already was. Donald was starting to get worried, partly because the ravenette's nose was still broken and bleeding. (After Vanitas had ordered them not to interfere, he figured that using Curaga on him would count as interfering.) The only thing that had changed about him was that he was drenched in sweat, from hair to toe.

He wished there was something he and Goofy could do to help.

"We are helpin'," Goofy said, as if he had read Donald's thoughts. "We're watchin' over him and following his wish to not interfere."

"I know," Donald sighed out. "I just can't help but feel like we're not doing enough. He's just lying there in his own mind with a broken nose."

"Well, you could've not hit him right in the nose," Goofy suggested.

"He said to knock him out, never where to hit him," Donald pointed out.

"C'mon, let's go talk to Master Yen Sid," Goofy suggested. "Maybe he knows a way we can help."

"Okay," Donald said, nodding his head.

The two of them started walking towards the door, but their attentions were drawn to what sounded like three Vanitas's speaking at once, saying, "A Fragmentary Passage."

They muttered in confusion and turned towards Vanitas, seeing him holding onto his chair arms, looking up at the ceiling with closed eyes and gritted teeth.

"All the pieces lie where they fell," Vanitas said, his voice sounding like three of him was talking. "Where they wait for him... Reconnect... The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it... Master of Keyblade... The lost two... Memory of Xehanort... Chasers... Keyblade War... It all began with... Birth By Sleep."

Vanitas muttered as he looked left, then right. He exclaimed as he looked back up.

"A tale of truth yet to be told," Vanitas said, his voice still sounding as if three of him were speaking. "Destiny is never left to chance. Destiny is inevitable. At long last, destinies gather... to awaken a new tale."

Vanitas gasped and sat up in the chair, breathing in and out as he finally woke up.

"Holy shit," he breathed out, surprised by how much he had felt go through his head, correlating what he saw.

"Are you okay?" Goofy asked.

"No," Vanitas said, placing a hand on his forehead, groaning in pain.

He groaned again when his palm touched his still broken nose.

"You know, you could have used Curaga to help my nose," Vanitas said with a strained voice.

"Sorry," Donald said, summoning his staff.

He cast the spell, and green light glowed around Vanitas, healing his nose and easing his headache a bit.

"Thanks," Vanitas said, standing up and grabbing his sling. "Now we gotta get to the important matters."

"You've got your memories back?" Goofy asked as Vanitas quickly started towards the door.

" _Oh_ , I've got more than that," Vanitas said, slipping on his sling.

He pushed open the doors and walked into the chamber, walking right in front of Yen Sid's desk.

"Ah, Vanitas," Yen Sid greeted. "I trust that you saw every part of your missing past?"

"I saw more than I wanted," Vanitas admitted. "But it was just what I needed."

"Huh?" Donald asked.

"The Mark of Mastery exam was rigged before we even started," Vanitas said. "Xehanort knew we were gonna do this, so he interfered. They're still learning the Power of Waking, all right, but they're falling right into Xehanort's hands. Ansem is trying to get Riku to set his darkness free, and Xehanort's recruited younger self is trying to force Sora into becoming Xehanort's final vessel, his thirteenth darkness, one of the thirteen needed for the χ-blade."

Donald, Goofy, and even Yen Sid was surprised by his news.

"I don't care what consequences happen, I'm going after them in the Dream World," Vanitas announced. "Riku's become a good friend, and Sora's my cousin, my family. I'm not gonna let them fall to darkness."

"Allow me to offer some assistance," Yen Sid suggested.

"You can help me get in the Dream World?" Vanitas asked.

"No," Yen Sid said with the shake of a head. "But since Sora is your cousin, I know someone who can help you."

He waved his hands, and a large jewel appeared on the table and started glowing.

"Strange, I have a problem that I need your help solving," Yen Sid said. "Come to the tower, post haste."

" _All right, pointy hat_ ," a deep voice responded through the jewel.

Vanitas chuckled as the light faded from the jewel.

"Who was that?" Vanitas asked.

"The Sorcerer Supreme of Earth 616," Yen Sid said. "While you and your Avenger friends protected the world from threats from space, there are forces on Earth 616 that protect them from beings from other universes. The head of their group is on the way here."

"Wak!" Donald exclaimed.

"What is that!?" Goofy exclaimed.

Vanitas and Yen Sid turned towards the wall the animals were pointing at, showing orange energy spinning around, forming a circle. An image of a room appeared in that circle, and a man walked through into the chamber. The man wore blue and black robes with a red cloak on his back, and a large pendant in the shape of an eye around his neck. He had dark hair with grey bits on his sideburns, and a sharp goatee that Vanitas thought would make his Uncle Tobias jealous.

"Who are you?" Vanitas asked.

"Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme," Stephen said.

"Well... nice to meet you, Dr. Strange," Vanitas said, holding out a hand. "I'm..."

"Vanitas Jordan," Stephen finished. "Yeah, you, the duck, and the dog are kinda famous on Earth for being a part of the Avengers."

"Nice to see we're recognized as heroes," Donald said with a smile.

"So, what do you need?" Stephen asked Yen Sid.

"Vanitas needs to get to the Dream World so he can save his friend and cousin," Yen Sid said. "You specialize in opening portals to help people reach family."

"Very true," Stephen agreed. "All right. All I need is a lock of hair."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Vanitas said. "Theres' a lot of things I'll do for the little shit, but no one touches my hair."

He then exclaimed as he felt the hair on the back of his head being tugged at. He turned around and was very surprised to see Stephen already behind him, holding a strand of Vanitas's hair.

"That oughta do it," Stephen said, extending the hair with both hands with orange energy.

He kept moving about the energy, forming a couple of designs before making a couple of circles. Once the circles were done, he extended his hand out and it grew into another portal, showing the Lanes Between within.

"Uh, that's not the Dream World," Vanitas commented.

"There are still restrictions with the Dream World that you have to enter it through the Lanes Between, no matter what part of it you enter," Stephen explained. "It should be no problem, as long as you have protection."

"I've got plenty," Vanitas announced.

He held out his hands, and his gauntlets, boots, and helmet appeared.

"We're coming with!" Goofy announced.

"I'm afraid not," Stephen told them. "Only Vanitas can go through the portal because it was made with his DNA. If you wanna follow, you're gonna have to find another way."

"Don't worry," Vanitas said, looking over his shoulder at his friends. "I'll be back, and I'll have Sora and Riku with me."

"Good luck, Vanitas," Yen Sid said.

"Yeah, good luck... Scarface," Stephen said with a smile.

"You and Tony Stark would get along well," Vanitas commented.

He ignited the thrusters on his boots and gauntlets and flew into the portal, into the Lanes Between. Vanitas knew he'd most likely be seeing the old man, Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort once again. But as he traveled through the Lanes Between as quickly as he could, desperate to help his friend and cousin, he found he didn't care. He had already faced and beat them all before. He could do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Jeez, I still can't believe how sad what happened to Strelitzia is. This is supposed to be a kid's game!
> 
> *2 That STILL surprises the hell out of me. I had automatically assumed Lauriam at first, too, so now I feel a little guilty for that after learning the truth. I mean, even knowing that it was because Vanitas possessed him, it's still hard to believe that Ventus killed somebody. VENTUS, the veritable clone of Sora with Roxas's face, killed someone
> 
> *3 And that's why Vanitas has so many powers. He's a demigod, and an Enhanced. With powers granted from being both half god and half human, he's a pretty powerful individual. That's why he can hold an Infinity Stone no problem, and will do that thing I mentioned you're probably all theorizing in the Fix It Endgame Ending
> 
> *4 And just like that, Vanitas knows the entirety of the story of Kingdom Hearts from Union cross to 3D. Vanitas is now one of us! Well, one of us back when III hadn't come out yet, but still
> 
> The Dr Strange Cameo is to help have more of the KH characters know that much more of the Marvel characters, to help lead to more future crossovers in the canon Endgame series


	4. Eights Lights, Thirteen Darknesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas, Riku, and Mickey meet Master Xehanort once more...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think you've noticed by now, probably noticed way back in the Birth By Sleep story, that I changed the Seven to Eight to account for Vanitas. Pretty much had to since he's gonna be there for the end

Still standing in his battle stance, Riku was surprised as the landscape around him changed back into the Round meeting Room with the thirteen thrones of the Organization. Having just finished fighting Young Xehanort in the arena he was dragged into, Riku wasn't expecting to come back when the fight was over. He stepped out of his battle stance and looked around as the Stopza magic Mickey cast continued to flow around the room.

"Are you okay, Riku?" Mickey asked, worried for the teen.

"Yeah," Riku confirmed. "Thanks, Mickey."

However, the twos attentions were drawn to the magic surging around the room, watching as it slowly faded. Once the magic was gone, a portal to the Lanes Between opened in the air above them, and Vanitas fell out, exclaiming in surprise as he landed on the ground right next to them, making his armor disappear.

"Not my best landing," Vanitas admitted with a wince.

"V, are you okay?" Riku asked.

"No," Vanitas admitted with a strained voice, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "But there was no way I was gonna miss this."

"Miss what?" Mickey asked.

"I saw everything," Vanitas said. "The original Keyblade War, my last tussle with Master Xehanort, our journeys together, your data misadventure, all the way to the reveal that this test was hijacked by Xehanort to get his thirteenth vessel."

"Whoa," Riku and Mickey said in amazement.

"And there was no way I was gonna miss seeing this prick again," Vanitas said, looking up the thrones to the tallest one.

Mickey followed his gaze and gasped in surprise.

"Master Xehanort!" he exclaimed. "We were right about you!"

Riku followed their gazes up to see the bald headed, tan skinned man in black robes over a white shirt and black pants and boots smirking down at them.

"All of this was decided," Xehanort said. "My twelve selves would welcome me here on this day, when I would return a complete person. It is the future which lies beyond my sight."

"The only thing you need to know about the future is that you're not gonna be in it," Vanitas announced, looking up at his old enemy with anger on his face.

"Ah, hello, Vanitas," Xehanort said, smile never wavering. "I see you've managed to stay well, despite all the complications you've faced."

"Fuck you, old man," Vanitas simply said, seeing that Xehanort had completely understood that all the "complications" were because of him.

"Why are you doing this?" Mickey yelled.

"In ancient times, people believed that light was a gift from an unseen land by the name of Kingdom Hearts," Xehanort started explaining, gesturing with his hand a lot as he spoke. "But Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by its counterpart, the χ-blade. Warriors vied for that precious light, thus beginning the 'Keyblade War.' The violent clash shattered the χ-blade into twenty-one pieces: eight of light, and thirteen of darkness. And the only real Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by the darkness, never to surface again."

He moved an arm and leg out so that the foot was resting on his opposite knee, and he could rest his head against his fist.

"I once tried to create my own pure light and darkness to forge the χ-blade, but the attempt ended in failure," Xehanort admitted. "In my eagerness, I had lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal. I acted rashly. I can admit that now."

"Rashly???" Vanitas asked. "You struck down your own best friend, and royally fucked over me and my friends."

"What you did back then, your mistakes, changed the destinies of him and our three other friends!" Mickey exclaimed in agreement.

"Ah, but destiny is never left to chance," Xehanort said, the smile never leaving his face.

"Why did he have to say that?" Vanitas muttered, remembering how he had said it multiple times.

"I merely guided them to their places," Xehanort defended, raising a hand. "The broken boy who failed to be the blade..."

"Ven," Vanitas translated as Xehanort held up one finger.

"The misguided master who sacrificed herself for a friend..." Xehanort continued, adding another finger.

"Aqua," Vanitas translated.

"And the feckless youth who became my new vessel," Xehanort finished, holding up three fingers before placing his hand to his chest.

"Terra," Vanitas translated.

Mickey looked down, sadly.

"I couldn't find a way to save 'em," he said, guiltily.

Vanitas closed his eyes, not wanting to face his own guilt. He knew what was going on back then, knew that Xehanort was evil and needed to be stopped, but instead of telling them that, he tried to take the old man on by himself, believing that he had to do it alone. And because of that, they had fallen to darkness.

It wasn't Mickey's fault, it was his. *** _1_ ***

"But I wanted to believe that their sacrifice stopped you for good," Mickey admitted, frowning at Xehanort. He looked down. "Why? How was I so blind? I should have seen it, as soon as Maleficent started gathering the seven princesses of heart."

"Yes," Xehanort said. "They were all my doing. I used the evil fairy to find seven pure lights for me, but also informed her about Vanitas, so that she could torture him enough to give up Ventus's location. That way, I'd have my number eight."

He looked at Vanitas, who was looking back up at him.

"Speaking of which, where is our old friend?" Xehanort asked.

"Your mother's asshole," Vanitas said. "Why don't you resurrect her from the dead, grab a flashlight and some forceps and give her a cavity search?"

Xehanort finally dropped his smile and frowned at Vanitas.

"I did not miss you," he admitted.

"The feeling's mutual, Old Fuck," Vanitas replied.

"But while Maleficent gathered the lights, I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness," Xehanort continued, his smirk returning.

"But you failed," Riku announced, walking up next to Vanitas and Mickey. "Sora and V stopped you in your tracks on both counts. And V didn't even have a Keyblade."

Riku and Mickey looked up at Xehanort, and Mickey nodded in agreement with Riku's words.

"Yes, they did," Xehanort agreed. "The fallen master teamed up with his dull, ordinary cousin, who turned out to be a Keyblade wielder so unlike any that I have ever seen."

He shifted in his seat again, lowering his leg and gripping both his armrests.

"However, I have not abandoned my ambitions," Xehanort announced. During his next words, he looked at the palms of his hands. "The eight guardians of light, and the thirteen seekers of darkness."

He looked down at them and chuckled.

"Eight guardians of light?" Mickey asked. "Well, for Keyblade Wielders, there's me, Riku, Sora, and V." He counted it on his fingers. "And, our three missing friends, that's seven. Then the eighth would be..."

He gasped and looked around.

"That means... the thirteen seekers of darkness..." Mickey started to say.

"Yes, little king," Xehanort said. "Perceptive. But Sora and another on your list belong to me now. And that puts you three guardians short."

"Because Terra's gone, and we still don't have _numero ocho_ ," Vanitas assessed, not knowing why he decided to finish in Spanish.

"But worry not," Xehanort told them. "All of the pieces are destined to appear. Your eight lights just like my thirteen darknesses, whose final clash shall beget the prize I seek..."

"The χ-blade!" Xehanort, Mickey, and Vanitas finished in unison.

Xehanort then stood up in his throne and summoned his Gazing Eye Keyblade.

"But first, the thirteen darknesses shall be united," he announced. Vanitas's eyes widened as Xehanort said, "All the seats have been filled. And now the last vessel shall bear my heart like the rest!"

Xehanort waved his hand, and the throne that Sora's prone body was sitting in, the lowest one to the ground, started rising up in the air. Riku, Mickey, and Vanitas quickly turned towards it.

"No!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Sora!" Riku called out.

"We're coming!" Vanitas exclaimed as the three of them started running forwards.

Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort disappeared from their thrones as the three kept charging forwards. Mickey and Vanitas started parkouring up the thrones towards Sora, but Mickey was pinned to a throne by Xemnas while Vanitas was pinned by Young Xehanort. Riku didn't even get to leave the ground, getting pinned down by Ansem.

Vanitas exclaimed in anger and pulled out his Colt M1911 handgun from the small of his back. He pressed it against Young Xehanort and pulled the trigger, which had no effect.

"Definitely should have applied that spell to more guns," he admitted.

"Yes," Young Xehanort agreed with a sadistic smirk. "I will admit, I have missed fighting you. A full decade for you, but just a short amount of time for me. I wonder how you'd fare now?"

"Let me go, and I'll show you!" Vanitas snapped.

Still being pinned down, Vanitas, along with Riku and Mickey were forced to watch as the throne with Sora finished rising up to Xehanort's level. The Master hummed as he sent energy over his Keyblade before raising it up. He shot out an orb that signified his heart, sending it right at Sora.

"No!" Vanitas exclaimed, eyes wide as he desperately looked at his cousin.

But right before the orb could impact Sora, it exploded in a big blast as something protected the brunette.

"He made it!" Mickey exclaimed in relief as smoke gathered from the explosion.

As the smoke cleared, the person that blocked protected Sora came more and more into focus.

"You!" Xemnas exclaimed.

Vanitas couldn't believe his eyes as he saw a familiar, red haired figure in a black coat sans reverse teardrop tattoos holding a chakram in one hand and the still prone Sora under his opposite arm.

"Axel!" Xigbar yelled from his seat.

Lea looked up through the fire around him and frowned.

"Axel?" he asked. "Please." He smirked. "The name's Lea. Got it memorized?"

"I know I do!" Vanitas yelled with a smile on his face as he looked up at his old friend.

"You're not supposed to be here!" Xigbar snapped at Lea.

"Promises to keep," Lea said, dangling the chakram in his hand. "I'll always be there to get my friends back. What, bad timing?"

He leaned forwards a bit as he looked at Xehanort.

"You had your perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel," Lea said before straightening up and gripping the chakram by the handle. "Now, let's find out what happens!"

"I missed him," Vanitas said with a smile.

"Shut up," Young Xehanort snapped.

"Fuck you," Vanitas replied, eyes never leaving Axel and Sora.

Xigbar slammed his fist into his arm rest in anger and looked up at Xehanort.

"What now, you old coot?" he snapped. "Our time is up!"

Xehanort just smirked and looked at another Organization member. This member stood up in their seat and lunged at Lea, summoning the claymore, the Lunatic, as they got closer. They swung the Lunatic at Lea, who blocked it with his chakram. But the impact of the two weapons hitting each other sent a gust of wind that pushed the hood from their head, revealing their spiked blue hair, pointed ears, X shaped scar between their golden eyes.

"Isa!" Lea exclaimed, seeing the face of his old best friend frowning at him.

Lea grunted a bit before pushing the Lunatic off of his chakram and running up the throne, jumping off and falling to the ground below. Riku and Mickey took that as their cue. Mickey summoned his Keyblade and slashed at Xemnas, who teleported away. Riku twirled his Keyblade and slashed at Ansem, who teleported away. Vanitas tried to help by reaching for his sling, but Young Xehanort stopped him from doing so.

"I don't think so," Young Xehanort said.

"Prick," Vanitas commented.

Ansem and Xemnas appeared in the air while Mickey and Riku landed on the ground in front of Lea, who was still carrying the prone Sora.

"Why are you here, Axel?" Riku asked.

"No, I told you my name's..." Lea started to say, but he sighed out and looked down. "Agh, whatever, Axel, fine. Now let's get out of here!"

Mickey turned to look at Lea and nodded his head in agreement, exclaiming, "Right!"

But then darkness surrounded Ansem as he flexed, releasing his shadowy minion. The minion roared a bit before flying down and grabbing Riku and Mickey in its fists. Axel jumped back in shock as the minion held up the two.

Vanitas exclaimed in shock as his friends were grabbed, while Young Xehanort looked over his shoulder with a smirk. Vanitas looked from the minion to the side of Young Xehanort's head, anger on his face. He closed his eyes and looked down as he lowered his hand to his side, concentrating. Luckily, it worked. Light gathered over his hand, and his old Keyblade, Void Gear, appeared in his palm.

"Hey," Vanitas said, getting Young Xehanort's attention.

Young Xehanort looked at him and went wide eyed at the sight of the Keyblade. As if he hadn't lost it for over a decade, Vanitas performed the attack Limit Storm, charging forward and spinning his Keyblade to attack, knocking Young Xehanort off of him and into his throne. *** _2_ ***

Vanitas then twirled in mid air and fell to the ground, landing on his feet and standing in his battle stance next to Lea.

"Holy shit!" Lea exclaimed, impressed.

"I got this prick," Vanitas said, facing the shadowy minion.

But then everyone's attentions were drawn to the sound of Donald and Goofy screaming up in the air. They looked up to see the familiar to Vanitas and Mickey sights of light bouncing around due to travel by Star Shard. The light faded above the shadow minion, and Donald and Goofy landed roughly on top of it, bouncing off and falling to the floor. The shadow minion then disappeared in a wisp of black smoke, dropping Riku and Mickey back to their feet.

"Were we supposed to do that?" Donald woozily asked on the ground.

"I think so," Goofy replied just as woozily.

"Goofy, Donald!" Mickey greeted his friends. "You saved us!"

"Never thought the two idiots would come to the rescue!" Vanitas laughed, looking between the two.

Above them, the twelve members of the Real Organization wearing cloaks went see through as black bits started flying out of them.

"We are out of time," Xehanort admitted. "Neither the union of light nor darkness has been achieved, and we must all return whence we came. But, the gathering of the eight and thirteen is nigh."

The heroes shot the villains dirty looks as they all looked up at them.

"Let us finish this at the fated place, once your lights and my darknesses have joined together!" Xehanort announced as he joined the others and went see through as black bits started flying out of him.

Pretty soon, the bits finished flying out of all the Organization members, making them all disappear as the bits flew up into the air and disappeared.

"Well, look on the bright side," Donald said, smiling at them. "V's got his Keyblade back!"

Vanitas nodded his head at his friend with a smirk. But then his attention was drawn to his Keyblade as light grew in the center of it. He lifted his Keyblade to look at it better as the light grew over the Void Gear, completely covering it. Once the Keyblade was completely covered, it made a noice akin to a window shattering and disappeared into pieces of light.

"Why am I not surprised?" Vanitas sighed out, dropping his hand to his side in defeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 That's the guilt I was talking about. We'll be seeing more of it after Lea summons his Keyblade
> 
> *2 I remember, I wouldn't let Vanitas do any Commands besides Cure to try to help differentiate him from the rest of Birth By Sleep a bit. I was an idiot
> 
> Sorry, but Vanitas isn't getting his Keyblade back just yet. He's still got a ways to go before that happens


	5. A New Keyblade Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku wakes Sora up and is granted the rank of Master, while Vanitas expresses sorrow over his past actions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, in this chapter, things go from the light hearted fun of the usual atmosphere of Kingdom Hearts to something pretty sad. You'll see why one of the tags is in there...

The group traveled back to the Mysterious Tower carrying Sora, with Riku changing back to his sixteen year old form along the way. They rested the brunette against a wall and crowded around him in worry. Except for Lea, who leaned against a book shelf with his arms crossed in contemplation, and Yen Sid, who was still sitting in his seat.

"Eight lights, thirteen darknesses..." Yen Sid said to himself. "Master Xehanort has been busy.

"That's one way to put it," Vanitas commented, sparing a look to Yen Sid before looking at Sora again.

Donald gripped his fists in worry and prepared to move forwards, but Goofy grabbed his shoulder and solumnly shook his head, reminding him that there was nothing they could do. He muttered in sadness and looked down.

"Aw, Sora," Mickey said. "Don't tell me your heart's sleeping, too."

"I couldn't bear it if that happened to another one of my friends," Vanitas added, placing a worried hand on Sora's shoulder.

"No, Mickey, Vanitas," Yen Sid said, getting their attentions. "This affliction is not the same."

"Can we do anything for him?" Riku asked.

Donald and Goofy exclaimed in curious unison, while Lea finally looked up at Yen Sid, wondering the same thing.

"In your Mark of Mastery exam, you were to unlock seven Sleeping Keyholes," Yen Sid reminded them. "By doing so, you would awaken those worlds from their prison of slumber, and also acquire a power to free a heart from its sleep. Riku, you unlocked those Keyholes within Sora's dreams. Therefore, it stands to reason that you now have the power to awaken Sora's heart."

"You want him to dive back into Sora's sleep?" Mickey asked. "But Master, Sora's heart is down in the darkest abyss."

"Thanks to that super-emo ass version of Xehanort pulling it down there," Vanitas added, the same worry on his face that was on Mickey's.

"If Riku's not careful, he might just get trapped down there with him," Mickey finished.

Donald and Goofy jumped slightly in surprise at Mickey, while Yen Sid stood up from his seat and walked towards them.

"No... I'll go instead," Mickey announced.

"And perhaps you may even succeed, Mickey," Yen Sid said. "But there is no denying that Riku stands a better chance, having dived into Sora's heart as long as he has."

' _Was this just added by the writers to add one more boss to be fought as Riku?_ ' Vanitas thought with furrowed eyebrows.

Mickey, instead, crossed his arms and hummed in thought, looking down. Riku looked from the King to Donald and Goofy, who had muttered in sadness as they looked directly down. He then looked to the still sleeping form of Sora, who Vanitas just realized was smiling, and chuckled.

"Mickey, I really appreciate it," Riku admitted. "But... I'll go wake Sora up."

"Riku," Mickey said, holding out a hand.

Riku looked at the still sleeping Sora and continued smiling. "Look at his face. Sleeping like nothing's wrong, like there's nothing to even worry about. *chuckle* He's always been like that. The three of us would agree to work on the raft, and then this guy would go take a nap on the beach."

"That sounds about right," Vanitas chuckled.

"You see, it's my job to keep him on his toes," Riku said, looking towards the others again. "Besides, what kind of Keyblade Master sleeps through his test?"

Vanitas decided not to point out that they were both sleeping through that entire test to be in the Dream World. Riku was on a roll.

"I'm doing it for me, too," Riku added, looking at Sora once more. "Sora saved me once. And... I heard him call my name. He needs me."

Mickey nodded his head.

"There's something real strong that binds us to each other," he said. Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas nodded their heads in agreement. "Even in the darkness, you can reach him. All you gotta do is follow that connection!"

"Gee, we're all connected to Sora," Goofy commented.

"You said it!" Donald agreed, raising a determined fist into the air while Vanitas nodded his head again.

"And if the darkness gets ya, I promise I'll bail you out," Lea announced. "'Dark Rescue' is my middle name."

"Lea Dark Rescue Something?" Vanitas asked with a laugh. "Whatever the case, I'll be helping him out. No way we're losing you guys to the darkness."

Riku stood up.

"Guys, thank you," he said, looking around at his friends. "Sora and I will be back soon."

Riku bowed his head at Yen Sid before walking a few feet away from Sora. The others moved out of the way as Riku summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the brunette. Sora was covered in light before purplish black gate point appeared above his sleeping form, with dark clouds in the orb so they couldn't see within.

Donald exclaimed in worry while Goofy exclaimed in excitement. Yen Sid and Vanitas nodded their heads at Riku.

"Bring back my cousin," Vanitas instructed while Lea and Mickey nodded their heads.

Riku nodded his head back and turned towards the gate as light surrounded him. Light shot out of the gate and started to cover him, making his outline completely white. That white broke into pieces that flew into the gate that made it glow brightly before it disappeared. Once they could see again, Riku's unconscious form was lying on the ground.

"Uh... let's hope that worked," Vanitas commented.

Luckily, it did. Vanitas saw in visions that the silver haired boy managed to do a Dive into Sora's heart, where he ended up battling a Nightmare designed like Ventus's armor, holding a black Kingdom Key backhanded. Vanitas remembered how he had seen Ventus's armor go around Sora when Young Xehanort had put him into the slumber he was in, so he guessed it was still protecting him from the darkness, even if the armor itself had been consumed. Riku defeated the Nightmare, releasing Sora and changing the ground back to the pedestal usually seen when Sora does a Dive. He used the restored Kingdom Key and shot a beam into a Keyhole.

This brought Riku to the Destiny Islands, where he was asked questions by Roxas, Ventus, and Xion respectively. It made sense, since all three of their hearts were still resting inside of Sora's (that had made Vanitas happy, because he hoped it meant that with their hearts available, there was a way to bring back all three of them). After he answered a question from all three of them, light flared.

The vision ended as Sora groaned and stretched his arms as he slowly woke up.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed, running towards the brunette and getting on their knees as they grabbed him in a hug.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed as they pretty much pushed him into the wall. He looked up at a relieved Vanitas. "What did I miss?"

"You almost fell to the darkness," Vanitas said.

At his confused expression, they explained what had happened at the Round Room, from Xehanort's monologue, to Lea saving him, to Vanitas's Keyblade appearing for twelve seconds so he could knock aside Young Xehanort, to Donald and Goofy arriving and knocking out the Dark Figure, to Xehanort and the other seekers disappearing, and announcing that once the Lights and Darknesses finally united, they'd all meet at the "fated land."

"The Keyblade Graveyard," Vanitas said. "That's where we fought the prick last time, it's gotta be where he's gonna have it happen again."

"There's a Keyblade Graveyard?" Sora asked as he, Donald, and Goofy winced at the name alone.

"Leftover from the Keyblade War all those centuries ago," Vanitas answered before Mickey or Yen Sid could explain. "It's where the five unions all battled each other, literally to the death."

"Unions?" Mickey asked, frowning in confusion.

"That's a long story we'll get to," Vanitas promised.

"Wh-what about Riku?" Sora asked, looking down at his friend on the ground in worry.

Vanitas placed a hand on Riku's forehead and saw that he was still at Destiny Islands, talking to... Ansem the Wise?

"Uh, give him a bit," Vanitas said.

So they did. In a surprisingly short amount of time, Sora, Donald, and Goofy got a table and chairs set up, along with a kettle of tea and a couple of cakes. Sora put on a party hat and a set of joke glasses with the usual fake nose and mustache as he stood next to the table. Vanitas and Lea took some chairs and sat in them as they stared down at Riku with Mickey and Yen Sid, watching the silver haired teen's progress. Vanitas sat in his chair sideways while Lea sat backwards and rested his arms on top of the chair's back.

"Nice to see you back, Ax... Lea," Vanitas said, correcting himself as he smiled at his old friend.

"Good to be back," Lea said, smiling back at Vanitas. "Now if only we could get a whole lot of Sea Salt Ice Cream to celebrate."

"I know," Vanitas agreed. "And now that I can taste, that'll help make things fun."

Not too much longer, the two looked back down at Riku's prone form, just in time for his eyes to start to peek open. He sighed as he finished waking up.

"Riku!" Mickey exclaimed in relief.

Riku looked up at the four staring down at him in relief.

"Sora!" he exclaimed, quickly sitting up.

"Hey, Donald!" Sora exclaimed, getting Riku and Vanitas's attentions. It looked like Donald was gobbling down some of the cakes. "Come on, you're hogging it all!"

"Aw, calm down, Sora, and drink your tea," Donald rebutted.

Goofy chuckled and raised his cup. "Gawrsh, it sure is yummy!"

Riku was staring at the trio with a jaw dropped, confused at how nonchalant they were acting after what had just happened to Sora.

"Yeah, they're morons," Vanitas muttered to Riku.

"Hey!" Riku called out, getting the trio's attentions.

The three turned towards Riku in surprise. Sora took off the hat and fake glasses and smiled at his friend.

"Riku..." he said, relieved.

"You're safe!" Sora exclaimed, lunging down and grabbing a confused Riku in a hug. "Riku!"

Sora laughed in relief while Riku muttered in confusion.

"Wait, haven't we got this backwards?" Riku asked as Sora released his best friend.

"Very much, yeah," Vanitas confirmed with a nod of the head.

"And why are you having a tea party?" Riku asked Sora as the brunette kept smiling at him.

"You're safe, Riku!" Sora exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Riku in a hug again.

"Ah, never mind," Riku sighed out, placing his hand on his forehead. "You okay? Feeling all right?"

"Yeah," Sora confirmed, releasing Riku and backing away from him a bit. "I've never been better. I was watching what was going on in my dream. And I could hear your voice the whole time. Thanks, Riku."

Sora finished by nodding his head at Riku, who nodded back.

Sora turned towards the others and said, "Thanks, everybody!"

Donald and Goofy laughed while they looked at each other. Mickey smiled and crossed his arms, nodding his head. Vanitas and Lea chuckled in victory as they shared a fist bump. Yen Sid stroked his long beard as he looked at them. At the sight of the former Keyblade Master, Sora remembered...

"Oh, yeah!" he said. "Did we pass the test?"

Yen Sid looked at them and hummed as he nodded at the two.

"You performed truly admirably, both of you," he said.

Sora and Riku nodded at each other with small chuckles. They then moved throughout the room, Sora and Riku standing at attention in front of the table, Yen Sid sat in his chair, Lea leaned against the bookshelf, and Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Vanitas stood next to the table.

Yen Sid cleared his throat and started, "More than anything, I am grateful to have you both back from Xehanort's deception unharmed. And I am grateful to Lea..." He looked at the redhead. "Whose spontaneous actions turned the tides."

Lea smirked slightly as he looked down.

"Sounds about right," Vanitas muttered, also looking down.

"I am also deeply sorry, for failing to perceive the danger and throwing you headlong into a perilous test," Yen Sid said, briefly looking guilty. "This experience has revealed many hidden truths, and we must gird ourselves for the great clash with darkness that lies before us. I believe we need a new Keyblade Master, one with a new kind of power. Sora and Riku, you both deserve the honor. However, one of you braved the realm of sleep again to unlock the final Keyhole and save a friend."

'Oh, boy...' Vanitas thought, mentally rolling his eyes. 'I don't even need visions of the future to know how this is gonna go...'

"Riku," Yen Sid said, gesturing to the silver haired teen. "I name you our new true Keyblade Master."

Luckily, Sora didn't take things personally. The brunette gasped and smiled widely before looking at Riku.

"Way to go, Riku!" he congratulated before jumping to his friend and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Y-yeah?" Riku asked, still a little shocked.

"I knew you were gonna pass with flying colors," Sora said, still smiling at his surprised friend. "This is just so awesome!"

"Gee, Sora, you're kinda acting like like it's you that passed," Goofy commented.

"I told ya Sora still needed practice," Donald remarked.

"Hey," Sora commented.

"Uh, yeah, he only didn't break Master 'cause that old prick intervened," Vanitas added. "He sealed the seven Keyholes, too. If it was a fair test, he'd be Master now, too."

"That is true," Yen Sid agreed.

"Ha!" Vanitas exclaimed, gesturing to Yen Sid while looking down at the mallard.

"Really?" Riku softly asked. "I'm a Keyblade Master?"

He looked at Sora, who nodded his head at him. Mickey, Riku, and Donald walked over to the two.

"Congratulations, Riku!" Mickey said, holding out a hand.

Riku breathed loudly for a second before he chuckled and kneeled down, taking Mickey's hand.

"Thank you, Mickey," Riku said. "I owe it to my friends."

As he said that, he turned and looked at Sora, who giggled at him.

"Ah, I'll catch up to you in no time flat," Lea commented, getting everyone's attentions.

"What?" Sora asked as Riku stood up. "You wanna be a Keyblade Master?"

"Yeah," Lea confirmed with a smirk as he looked up at them. "I mean, I came here to learn how to wield one."

" _You!?_ " Sora and Riku asked incredulously, leaning forwards to look at the redhead better.

"Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence," Lea commented, placing his fists on his hips.

"Hey, anyone can break Master," Vanitas said. "Hell, I broke Master and I never stop making horror references."

"Thank you," Lea said, looking from Vanitas to the other two. "You know, I was gonna come swooping in, Keyblade in hand!"

He crossed his arms and looked to the side with closed eyes.

"But I just couldn't get mine to materialize," Lea admitted, holding out his hand and looking at it. "Must be in the snap of the wrist or something."

He held out his hand and barely reacted as a Keyblade, Bond of the Blaze, materialized in his hand with a flash of fire.

"WHOA!" Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Yen Sid exclaimed as they looked at him in surprise. Yen Sid even stood up from his chair in amazement.

Vanitas smirked at his friends' reactions, but then closed his eyes as he felt a vision coming.

This one ended up being a flashback, which felt like a slap in the face. He saw Aqua standing on water surrounded by stars with a beam of light glowing down on her. She was looking at her Wayfinder in her hands, closed her eyes and held it to her chest, and fell down through the air. After a few seconds of falling, she looked up to see the glass pedestal of a Dive to the Heart, and light flashed.

The four Wayfinders, Aqua's blue, Terra's orange, Ventus's green, and Vanitas's red, fell down through the "water," and flew into a light. Vanitas saw Xehanort as he blasted ice at Terra, then Terra and Aqua as they battled during their test, before seeing Aqua's face in her Wayfinder. He saw the four of them standing together in their armor, then himself, Aqua, and Ventus looking up the expanse towards Xehanort, followed by Terra's face in his Wayfinder. He saw Terra charging towards Xehanort before his eyes went yellow before seeing Ventus in his Wayfinder. He saw Ventus getting grabbed by Xehanort and frozen before seeing himself in his Wayfinder. Vanitas saw himself getting knocked aside by Young Xehanort and knocked aside by Dark Vantias before seeing Xehanort send out an orb of darkness to summon Kingdom Hearts. The pandemonium of that day kept flashing until Aqua's Wayfinder fell down through the night sky.

The Wayfinder landed in her hand, showing her standing with Vanitas, Ventus, and Terra as the four friends held out their four Wayfinders together at the Land of Departure. Vanitas smiled at Aqua and the two of them smiled at their other friends. But then Ventus and Terra disappeared as the ground became like a water mirror as their Wayfinders fell to the ground. Aqua and Vanitas reached for their friends as their images disappeared from the water.

The Wayfinders fell through the water before they became dark orbs that were surrounding a castle, making it disappear. The orbs flew out and formed the thirteen Organization thrones from the Round Room. From those orbs, Ventus and Terra's Wayfinders fell through the air and fell down through a sky. Things shifted to show Aqua and Vanitas running down a plain black room towards Ventus and Terra, although they could tell something was different.

And they were right. The two twirled around, showing Ventus in Dark Vanitas's outfit holding the χ-blade, and Terra with silver hair holding the No Name. Dark Vanitas and Xehanort jabbed their Keyblades at the two Masters as light flared, making the landscape the Keyblade Graveyard. Aqua and Vanitas jumped back as they summoned their Keyblades. They battled Xehanort and Dark Vanitas, and ended up getting knocked onto the ground. Dark Vanitas stared at them with his usual cocky smirk while Xehanort stared impassively.

Luckily, light flared from above, surprising them all. Mickey jumped down while spinning horizontally with Star Seeker, knocking the two enemies aside as he landed on the ground. He turned towards Aqua and Vanitas and smiled as he offered a hand. Aqua and Vanitas smiled back and took his offered hand and standing ready. They leaped forwards, and the three of them battled their possessed friends together, knocking the weapons out of their hands and sending them into each other. Xehanort and Dark Vanitas hit each other back to back, making them go purple.

Light flared, and Aqua and Vanitas were smiling as they were flying forwards high in the sky over the clouds, reaching towards Ventus and Terra's Wayfinders. The Wayfinders turned into their friends who flew towards them with their own smiles. The four took each others hands and smiled and laughed as they started falling towards the water below.

The mood shifted dramatically when the thrones appeared around them. They looked up to the top one seeing Kingdom Hearts behind it, with Xehanort smirking down at them. Darkness appeared in his hand, which exploded and sent the four through the water of the Dive again. Aqua exclaimed and summoned her Keyblade, sending out a beam that cast barriers around Ventus, a bruised Vanitas, and Terra. The boys reached desperately for their friend with expressions of sorrow as she continued falling into the darkness. She became her Wayfinder, which fell further into the dark as it glowed slightly. 

Vanitas gasped out of his vision as he realized his friends were calling out his name. What he saw just helped emphasize how much turmoil that Aqua has been in over the last decade, and how it was his fault. Sorrow growing in his chest, Vanitas decided to resort to what he did the last time he felt this much sorrow: break something.

He reached down for one of the white chairs and yelled out as he threw it towards one of the windows in the back of the chamber. However, the chair ended up going right through the nonexistent glass.

"What kind of window doesn't have glass!?" Vanitas exclaimed.

"V, what's wrong?" Sora asked, eyes wide in surprise.

He turned towards his friends, not hesitating to show the sorrow on his face.

"Like I said, I saw everything," Vanitas said, his voice cracking a bit. "I saw that a decade ago, my friends and I were traveling throughout the worlds to try to figure out the mystery of the monsters, the Unversed, and I knew something was up with Xehanort. I knew he had to be responsible, but I kept it to myself. And I ended up being right. He and the physical form of Ven's darkness were causing havoc to worlds to lure us away, to help Terra give into his darkness, and make Ven stronger to forge the χ-blade. Once they were both ready, Xehanort struck down Master Eraqus, and led us to the Keyblade Graveyard, where he succeeded at forging the χ-blade and making Terra his vessel. Aqua, Mickey, and I destroyed the χ-blade and hid away the comatose Ven, but we went after Terra because we didn't know what happened to him. We found him, possessed by Xehanort, at Radiant Garden, and fought him. I got the shit beat out of me, but we managed to beat him. Xehanort fell into a dark pool, right into the dark realm, and Aqua leaped in after him while I tried keeping it open with my already damaged in the battle Keyblade. It blew up in my face, leading to that problem I had, while Aqua stayed in the realm, sending back Terra's body, resolute that he wouldn't be trapped in the realm. That's where she's been for the last decade. My three best friends, one possessed, one in a coma, and one trapped in a veritable hell, while I've spent the last decade bitching about my own hellish experience."

He sniffed as he walked across the chamber towards the doors to the wardrobe room, and the others watched him with worried expressions, seeing sorrow in the ravenette that they had never seen before.

"V, it's okay," Riku tried saying.

"Yeah, none of that was your fault," Mickey said. "Xehanort did all of that to you guys."

"Yeah, V," Sora said. "You didn't do anything to..."

"That's exactly... my point!" Vanitas exclaimed, looking at them again with tears sliding down his cheeks, surprising the others. He breathed out. "I didn't do, _anything_."

They could hear the sorrow and anguish in his voice as he exclaimed the last bit.

"I knew that Xehanort was planning trouble, but instead of actually doing anything about it, I kept things to myself and refused to use my powers to aid in anything," Vanitas continued. "Because I wanted to prove myself as a Keyblade Master. Instead of trying to get help, I put everything on my shoulders, and went after Xehanort alone, trying to do some big macho showdown. And... I lost everything." He sniffed as tears kept sliding out of his eyes. "My friends, my family, my home, the closest thing I've ever had to a father... all of it. Because I wanted to show off."

Sora, Riku, Lea, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Yen Sid all looked at the ravenette with sad expressions as they saw how upset he was as he recounted his tale.

"I don't deserve to be a Keyblade Master," Vanitas announced. "Let alone wield one... Not after a fuck up like that."

He turned away from them and walked through the doors into the wardrobe room, letting them close behind him. The others stared after him as the doors shut.

"Now I see why his Keyblade hasn't returned," Yen Sid announced as he sat back down.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Mickey asked, still a little shaken by Vanitas's words.

"He doesn't believe in himself as a wielder anymore after that mistake," Yen Sid repeated Vanitas's words. "And when the wielder doesn't believe they're worthy of the Keyblade, it won't return to him. To get it back, he'd need to find a way to believe in himself once more, and face the mistakes of his past and accept them. Then, and only then, will his Keyblade return."

"How are we gonna get him to do that?" Donald asked.

"You just said it yourself that he doesn't believe," Goofy said. "And how could we get him to accept the mistakes of his past?"

"He does accept them," Lea said. "But he accepts them in the regard of them being his fault."

"I'll try talking to him," Sora said. "He's my cousin, there's gotta be something I can say."

Sora nodded his head in determination at the others and walked to the wardrobe doors. He walked through and found Vanitas sitting against the wall, staring blankly at the wall in front of him with tears running down his cheeks. Sora was about to say something, but the familiar sound of a gun hammer clicking drew his attention. He looked down at Vanitas and went wide eyed as he saw his cousin raising a Beretta up to the side of his head.

"V, no!" Sora exclaimed, rushing forward to stop him.

Sora managed to grab Vanitas's hand and pull the gun nozzle away from Vanitas's head, so it was instead aimed at the walls. Vanitas exclaimed as he tried to wrestle the gun back, and ended up firing three shots that embedded themselves in the walls. But since Vanitas forgot he had enhanced strength, Sora was able to get a grip on the gun, but accidentally hit Vanitas right in the face with it pretty hard, causing the ravenette to fall to the ground, unconscious.

Sora stood straight up and breathed in and out as he looked down at his downed cousin with wide eyes. Did Vanitas really just try to...?

"What happened?" Riku asked, as he and the others watched from the door with worried expressions.

Sora looked up at them and panted in and out, still surprised at what just happened.

"I think he feels worse than about it than we originally thought..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's what I was talking about about things going pretty sad, and why there's a tag for suicide attempt. This isn't a way to poke fun at anybody who's ever tried that, though. Sometimes, people who are feeling so horrible about something they did see no other way out, which is kind of sad.
> 
> The scenes that he saw were part of the opening cinematic from Birth By Sleep A Fragmentary Passage, which I decided to use as a way to remind him of what had happened, and show how much guilt he had. That guilt is part of the reason he doesn't have his Keyblade back, as mentioned there.
> 
> Things ended up taking a dark turn past, as I understand. Things turn around a bit in the next chapter


	6. The Eighth Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group helps Vanitas through his trauma, before Riku runs an errand for Yen Sid...

When Vanitas woke up, he had a throbbing pain in the side of his head, and his wrists were bound with handcuffs. He groaned as he sat up against a back wall of the wardrobe room and looked down at his restrained hands in confusion.

"We didn't think it would be a good idea for you have full reach with your hands," Sora's voice said.

Vanitas looked up to see Sora, Riku, Lea, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all standing over him, looking at him with worried expressions.

"At least, if you were really still suicidal," Sora finished.

Vanitas looked at his friends like they were idiots.

"You put restraints on someone with telekinesis," he assessed.

Realization dawned over the six as Vanitas positioned each hand over the opposite wrists and sent out his powers, making the handcuffs open up and fall to the floor, where they landed with a metallic clang.

"Yeah, that may not have been a smart decision on our part," Lea admitted.

"You think?" Vanitas asked, reaching for his sling on his back.

As he expected, it was gone.

"We didn't exactly trust you with having the sling," Donald admitted.

"We also made sure to grab the guns from your holsters," Goofy admitted. "Along with your knives."

"There were a lot," Riku commented, holding up a grocery bag filled with handguns and knives.

Vanitas sighed out as he leaned back against the wall, resting the back of his head against it as well. He looked up at Sora as his brunette cousin crouched down to look Vanitas in the face better.

"V... why?" Sora asked. "Why would you wanna kill yourself?"

"Because it was all my fault," Vanitas said, reminding them of his story. "I lost it all because of my mistakes, and knowing it hurt so much. It was so bad that, I didn't see another way out, another way to relieve the pain."

"V, that's..." Sora started, but he trailed off as he realized he didn't know what to say.

"Exactly," Vanitas said, looking up at Sora, resting one arm on his knee. "There's nothing you can say, because you don't know what it's like." He looked up. "None of you know what kind of pain I'm going through right now. There's nothing you can say that can try to help me. Just go."

He looked down and closed his eyes, emphasizing that the conversation was over. The friends shared sad expressions as they realized Vanitas was right, and there was nothing they could say.

"Come on, guys," Lea said, gesturing to the door with his head.

He led the way back towards the door and led the way out of the wardrobe room, back into Yen Sid's chamber, where Vanitas's sling was resting on the table. The former Keyblade Master looked up at them and opened his eyes.

"Well?" Yen Sid asked.

"He won't listen," Donald said.

"Mainly 'cause he has a really good point," Sora said. "None of us actually went through the same mistakes or trauma as him, so we can't sympathize with his guilt."

Riku looked towards his friends towards the door and narrowed his eyes in contemplation.

"I can," Riku said, placing the bag of guns and knives on the table. "Give me a couple of minutes."

Riku walked back into the wardrobe room, shutting the door behind him as he walked down the small hallway. He walked up to Vanitas and sat down next to him, leaning his back against the wall just as the ravenette was doing. Vanitas didn't even acknowledge his presence, just continuing to look down in shame, pressing his forehead against the back of his hand resting on his knee.

"You're wrong about none of us being able to sympathize," Riku told Vanitas. "That first journey when we left the islands and went looking for Kairi. Remember, I gave into darkness and fought you guys. Like you said when we fought on that bridge, I tried to kill you and Sora no less than three times back there. Then I let Ansem take my body, and I was trapped in the dark realm. I felt the same way you're feeling right now while I was in there."

"Oh, yeah?" Vanitas said, looking up a bit and glancing at Riku with his eyes still closed a bit. "While you were in there, did you ever get to the point where you tried killing yourself?"

"Yeah," Riku confirmed. "Twice."

That got Vanitas to look up at the silver haired teen directly, since it legitimately surprised him.

"What?" he asked.

"Like you said, I didn't see another way out," Riku admitted. "I had betrayed my best friends, let a psychopath use my body for evil, and was trapped in what's basically Hell. So, I grabbed Soul Eater and tried cutting my throat. The only reason I'm still here is because since it's a magic blade, it's only sharp against enemies."

"And... the second way?" Vanitas asked.

"Jumped off a cliff into the darkest depths," Riku answered. "I was fully prepared for it to burn me to death, but instead, it launched me back up onto that cliff. The only pain I actually felt was when I landed back on the cliff. It was a long fall."

Vanitas gasped in surprise as he looked up and placed his head against the wall.

"What got you out of that funk?" he asked.

"Mickey," Riku answered. "He contacted me in the realm of darkness and offered me a chance to atone."

"Yeah, I saw that in my vision," Vanitas said. "You perked up really quickly when he did that."

"I saw a chance to make up for what I did to my friends," Riku continued. "A chance to make up for treating you guys like crap. So, I didn't hesitate. I took it, and that's how we all ended up at the door. I saw a chance to not only make up to my friends for what I did, but get back at the prick that ended up bringing all that pain to us in the first place: Ansem. Top goal was making amends to you guys, but secondary goal was definitely to kill that prick."

"Naturally," Vanitas said, nodding his head as he looked in front of Riku in consideration.

"So you're not alone in that regard," Riku told Vanitas. "I've been through the exact same pain you have. And you can use the same mediators that I used: focus on getting your friends back and getting revenge on the person that caused you this pain in the first place. 'Cause if you're dead... then you won't be able to stick it to Xehanort." Riku looked at Vanitas. "I'll give you a bit to think it over." *** _1_ ***

Riku stood up and walked out of the wardrobe room, leaving a contemplative Vanitas still sitting against the wall. He walked back into Yen Sid's chamber and everyone inside looked up at him hopefully.

"Give it a minute," Riku told them. "This isn't something that can just be solved in a minute. It takes time, and a good ear on your shoulder."

"Time we might not have," Donald said. "We don't know how or when Xehanort will strike."

"We've still got time," Vanitas's voice announced.

Everyone looked behind Riku to see Vanitas standing in front of the doors to the wardrobe room.

"I saw in my visions, they don't have the thirteenth vessel yet," Vanitas said. "That's why they tried to force the responsibility on Sora. They're gonna try searching in the past for people to fill the seats."

Everyone nodded along while looking at Vanitas expectantly.

"So what are we sitting around for?" Vanitas asked, determination growing on his face. "We've got friends of mine to save, and thirteen copies of that old fuck to defeat."

Vanitas's friends nodded or laughed in agreement with his words, vulgar as they were. Even though he still had grief and depression like problems, he was willing to put them aside for now to help solve the problem. Which is what they needed if they were gonna stand a chance against Xehanort...

* * *

After a little while of planning and talking, Lea went off to Radiant Garden to talk with his associates there while Sora announced he needed to make a quick trip. Riku, Vanitas, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy followed him outside of the tower to see him off.

"Do ya have to go?" Goofy asked as Sora walked across the grassy yard towards one of the edges of the land.

"Well... I did doze off..." Sora reminded them. "I just have some stuff to take care of."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Donald asked.

"Yeah," Sora confirmed, not even looking at them. "I won't be long."

"Hurry back," Vanitas said.

"Be careful," Mickey added.

"Very careful," Riku said, leaning forwards with his hands on his hips (reminding Vanitas of a mother giving her child orders).

"Right," Sora agreed, looking over his shoulder and smiling at his friends. "See you soon."

He turned towards the empty area in front of him once again and summoned his Keyblade, pointing it as a Keyhole appeared in the air. A beam shot out of the Kingdom Key that made light shoot out, swallowing up Sora and making him disappear with the light.

Vanitas and Mickey went up the stairs back to Yen Sid's chamber while Riku went off an an errand for the sorcerer, and Donald and Goofy decided to stay on the outside steps and wait for Sora. Along the way, Vanitas had seen in his visions that Sora went back to Traverse Town, looking around in disappointment as he couldn't see "them" anywhere. At first Vanitas thought "they" were the Shibuya group of Neku, Shiki, Joshua, Beat, and Rhyme, but when a familiar dog like whine rang out, Vanitas understood better and Sora perked up. Sora was then surrounded by all kinds of Spirits, laughing the whole time as they came out to greet him. The whole thing made Vanitas smile, and he saw that in response, Ventus's sleeping form back in Castle Oblivion even cracked a smirk.

But then things shifted back into seriousness as he re-entered Yen Sid's chamber with Mickey. Things started when he saw more words that he had seen in his psychic dreams.

_The darkness awakens_.

Things shifted to show Vanitas the youngest version of Xehanort, back when he was a teen on the Destiny Islands. He stood at the beach of the play island and looked out at the crashing waves, announcing that the world was "too small."

_The light in the darkness_

Things shifted to show Aqua in the dark realm at the beach once again, just staring at the water in front of her with a hard to read expression.

_leads to the last key_

When the visions finally ended, Vanitas looked up to see that Master Yen Sid and Mickey were waiting for him so they could start talking.

"Sorry," Vanitas said. "I've never gotten a grip on the visions, even before I lost my life force."

"It is all right, Vanitas," Yen Sid assured him before looking over both Masters. "The Keyblade Wars of yore plunged the true Kingdom Hearts into darkness, and the χ-blade was shattered. But the light still shining in the hearts of children rebuilt the world that it was today."

' _Dude, we've heard this a thousand times_ ,' Vanitas thought, making sure to hide his annoyance. ' _No wonder Kairi's grandma got tired of telling her that story_.'

"And the light from the broken χ-blade was then divided into eight, to protect the number of pure hearts in the world," Yen Sid continued.

"Eight pure lights..." Mickey said, looking down in contemplation with crossed arms. "They're... the princesses of heart and Ven, if what Xehanort was saying was true."

"The prick isn't much of a liar when talking to his enemies," Vanitas admitted. "He all but confirmed to me of his sinister intentions no less than three times during our first attempt at fighting him."

"Indeed," Yen Sid agreed with them both. "Seven of those pure hearts form the very source of all light in the world. Ventus is powerful, but we leave those responsibilities to the seven princesses. If they are lost, the world will again give away to shadow. Thus, even if we deliberately avoid finding our eight lights to avert another Keyblade War, Xehanort will still target the seven princesses and Ventus in order to forge the χ-blade."

"So, there's gonna be a clash between eight lights and thirteen darknesses, and there's nothing we can do to avoid triggering the Keyblade War?" Mickey asked.

"Things might not be that simple," Vanitas said. "After all, there's what I saw in my visions that'll give us more insight to the original Keyblade War?"

"Great," Mickey said. "Tell us."

"I'd rather wait until Sora and Riku get back," Vanitas admitted. "When I tell it, I'd like to get through everything I saw, and there's information in those visions pertinent to both of them."

"All right, we'll wait until they both get back," Mickey agreed.

"To protect the seven pure hearts, we will need eight lights strong enough to stand against the thirteen darknesses," Yen Sid announced.

"So Ven's involved no matter what makes up seven of those lights," Vanitas assessed. "Man, poor Vennie, having all this responsibility on his shoulders."

"So we're missing one guardian of light," Mickey assessed, looking down in contemplation.

The sound of the chamber door behind them garnered Mickey and Vanitas's attentions. They turned around to see Riku standing in front of the door, looking at them.

"Riku!" Mickey greeted. "You're back!"

"That's right," Riku agreed. He looked to Yen Sid. "Master Yen Sid, I brought the 'guest' you asked for, but..." He looked behind himself and stepped out of the way of the door. "You never said why."

"Huh?" Mickey asked, jumping in surprise at who was standing in the doorway walked into the room. "Wow!"

Vanitas chuckled, "I'm not even surprised."

"I have come to learn that you, too, can wield a Keyblade," Yen Sid told Kairi as she stepped in front of the table. "I am glad you are here."

Kairi gave a slight nod at his words. *** _2_ ***

"Reconnect," Vanitas muttered with a chuckle.

Riku, Mickey, and Kairi shot him confused expressions, but he stuttered while waving a hand, emphasizing that they should forget it. Within moments, the four of them, Kairi, Riku, Vanitas, and Mickey, were standing in front of Yen Sid's table, ready to continue the conversation. Although, Vanitas made sure not to look around too much. He was sure that just seconds prior the room had green walls, but now they were purple, with much more shelves and a darker theme. *** _3_ ***

"The great battle with Xehanort is almost upon us," Yen Sid announced. "As you know, we must take action to keep the seven pure lights safe, and thus we must hasten to assemble the eight guardians of light. It is time to return to our world the three Keyblade Wielders we lost over a decade ago, Vanitas's old friends. Ventus, Aqua, and Terra must be saved from their sad end, for they have more to achieve."

' _Plus, Ven's gotta answer my questions of how the hell he's still alive after who knows how many centuries,_ ' Vanitas thought.

"Following your first battle with Xehanort, Vanitas, we remember that Ventus's heart refused to awaken, so you and Aqua found a safe place to conceal him," Yen Sid remembered.

"We went to what remained of the Land of Departure," Vanitas said. "But since it was damaged by Darkness thanks to Xehanort, we followed Master Eraqus's instructions and locked the land away using his Keyblade. The castle was changed to a place of oblivion. I think I just made it obvious what the place is from what I just said."

"Castle Oblivion?" Riku asked. "That place used to be your old training ground?"

"Locking it away changed it _really_ significantly," Vanitas admitted.

"Clearly," Riku commented with wide eyes as he remembered the trails they had gone through at the Castle.

"But when the both of you went off in search of the missing Terra, you disappeared and Aqua fell into a place from which there is no return without outside help," Yen Sid continued.

"The Realm of Darkness," Vanitas remembered. "We battled Xehanort, who had possessed Terra's body. During the battle, which was what brought about that Dark Figure, my Keyblade was damaged, and I had the shit beat out of me. We finished him off, and Xehanort pressed his Keyblade to his chest, making Terra's body fall into a pool that led into the Realm. Aqua jumped in after him, and I used my Keyblade to keep it open to give them time. Of course, since it was already damaged, I ended up overexerting it. That's what led to..."

He pointed at the scar on his face, and everyone winced as they realized what he was talking about.

"She was only able to send out Xehanort, who had amnesia from what happened with his Keyblade, and her own armor and Keyblade, which are still in the basement of the castle at Radiant Garden," Vanitas finished. "She's been using Eraqus's Keyblade, fighting off the hordes of enemies down there that are much more powerful than they are up here. For over a decade."

Vanitas winced as he thought about the turmoil his old friend had been facing, alone.

Yen Sid then looked at Mickey and nodded his head at the mouse, letting him know he can talk. So, Mickey turned towards his human Keybladed friends.

"I saw her," Mickey said. "In the realm of darkness."

"During our first journey," Vanitas said, remembering what he saw in his vision.

Vanitas and Mickey then went on to tell the tale about what had happened to Aqua while she was in the realm of darkness during their first journey. How she had gone through the Castle of Dreams, Dwarf Woodlands, and Enchanted Dominion, fighting Heartless and her own phantom, witnessing great sights and feeling bouts of hopelessness, before facing an army of Darksides and seeing visions of Ventus and Terra. Just as she started to give up, Mickey found her outside the World of Chaos and helped her fight through the surges of Heartless. Mickey helped explain with what he saw from his point of view, as they explained how he and Aqua had fought the Demon Tide at Destiny Islands before moving on to get the Kingdom Key D. They then explained how Mickey and Aqua witnessed Riku running towards the doors of Kingdom Hearts, but the Demon Tide reappeared and charged at the silver haired teen. Aqua once more sacrificed herself to save someone and restrained the monster. But the Demon Tide broke out, knocked aside Mickey, and dragged Aqua back into the Destiny Islands, with the door disappearing behind them. Aqua finished off the Demon Tide in the Islands and as it returned to the realm of light, Aqua fell back into the darkness.

"I thought... I heard her voice in the distance," Mickey admitted.

"She sacrificed herself to save me?" Riku asked, looking down as he took in their words. He turned towards Mickey. "Why did you keep it from me _or_ V for so long? He searched for her and the others for nine years."

"I had to respect her choice," Mickey said.

"Bullshit," Vanitas said, much more softly than you'd expect. "There just wasn't anything that we could have done since none of us were Masters. Plus, I still had hella anger problems back then."

"You can't be serious," Riku told Vanitas before looking at Mickey again. "You could have given us a choice. During our second journey, we destroyed freaking buildings with single strikes with our Keyblades. We could have gone and helped her."

"I know..." Mickey said softly, looking down.

"Riku, buildings and Heartless are very different," Vanitas commented. He cocked his head to the side. "Well, maybe not with the size of that Demon Tide, but still. Aqua was a Keyblade Master with years worth of training, and she nearly fell to darkness multiple times. You and Sora were self taught Keyblade Wielders that barely knew how to handle themselves, and I had no memory of how to navigate down there. We all would have died horrible deaths."

"Brash way to say it, but Vanitas is right," Yen Sid agreed. "As Mickey clearly said in his and Vanitas's story, reaching the realm of darkness the first time was not a simple task. And even if we found a way in, like Vanitas said, none of you would have been powerful enough to face the enemies you'd find down there. And, regrettably, none of us possessed the necessary means to get Aqua back out safely. So I forbade Mickey from telling any of you, let alone going after her."

"Why keep it secret?" Riku asked, walking closer to the table.

"That much is obvious," Yen Sid admitted. "If not you, then certainly Sora, or definitely Vanitas would have staged a reckless attempt at rescue."

Riku muttered as he realized that the former Keyblade Master had a point.

"Well, things are different now," Vanitas said. "She's been down there for too long, Ven's been asleep for too long, and Terra's been possessed for too long. We need to get them back."

"Luckily, now we can help Aqua," Mickey said, walking up next towards the table, too. He looked at Riku and Vanitas. "The three of us, we're gonna go find her!"

"Yeah!" Riku agreed.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed.

"Regrettably, without a Keyblade, Vanitas can't do as much as either of you down in the realm of darkness," Yen Sid announced. "He can go down and fight with you, but he wouldn't be able to get back out."

Vanitas sighed out in disappointment and looked up.

"There's always a catch," he commented, frowning up at the ceiling.

"Don't worry," Mickey said. "Riku and I will get her back."

"Count me in!" Riku agreed.

"Yep!" Mickey nodded in agreement.

"Who's this new Riku and where's the old one?" Kairi chuckled as she walked up next to the three.

' _Oh, I was kinda expecting Hayden, but Alyson works, too_ ,' Vanitas thought. *** _4_ ***

"New me?" Riku asked Kairi.

"Yeah," Kairi agreed with a small laugh. "You're more like Sora."

"Should I be flattered?" Riku asked with a smaller laugh.

"Who the fuck knows, man?" Vanitas asked with a small smirk while Kairi chuckled again.

"I try too hard to be the role model," Riku admitted. During his next words, he placed a hand to his chest. "It's more fun to just listen to my heart. Which is... Sora-esque."

"Well, we still like you," Kairi assured the silver haired teen. She turned to Yen Sid and walked closer to the table. "Master, I came here because I wanted to help somehow. What can I do?"

"I have entrusted the wizard Merlin to oversee the training for our new Keyblade wielders, yourself and Lea," Yen Sid explained.

"Lea?" Kairi asked, confused.

Mickey ran up next to her and explained, "He means Axel."

"What!?" Kairi asked, stepping back in shock.

"He's a regular person now," Mickey assured her. "He even saved Sora for us. You can trust him!"

Kairi muttered in contemplation and looked at Riku and Vanitas, who nodded in assurance to her.

"Plus, a little part of me is starting to think you and him might be siblings," Vanitas admitted.

"What?" Kairi and Riku both asked, Kairi's in confusion and Riku in amusement.

"What makes you think that?" Riku asked.

"They're both from Radiant Garden," Vanitas said, raising a finger to count off his examples. "They both have red hair. They both have... flamboyant personalities. And They were both chosen by a Keyblade. Sure, with both of them it was cause they were passed on to them by accidents, but still." *** _5_ ***

"Huh," Riku said, nodding his head as he took in Vanitas's words.

He and Vanitas then both looked at Kairi in contemplation, with both of them tilting their heads as they thought that.

"Please stop," Kairi begged. "I don't wanna think about that."

"Okay," Mickey said, brushing off his own thoughts of the subject. He started walking towards the door. "C'mon, Riku. It's time for us to go. First, we gotta find an entrance to the realm of darkness."

"Mickey, take these along with you," Yen Sid announced, stopping the two and making them turn to the former Master again.

He waved his hand, making two suitcases appear on the table as he explained, "The three good fairies asked that you be presented with them. They are new vestments which will shield the both of you from the darkness."

Riku and Mickey took the suitcases from the table.

"Thank you, Master," they said in unison as they bowed to Yen Sid in thanks.

"Vanitas, stay here and wait for Sora," Yen Sid requested.

"Yep," Vanitas said, leaning against the table.

Riku swung his suitcase so he was carrying it behind his shoulder as he looked down at Mickey.

"Okay, let's go!" Mickey announced.

He, Riku, and Kairi turned towards the door and started walking towards it, leaving the chamber, and soon enough the tower. Vanitas stayed in the chamber and sat on the table, waiting for his cousin to return, but still not believing that he was worthy to have his Keyblade back...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 A little part of me is starting to think it was unnecessary to actually have Vanitas attempt to kill himself, since he gets over it pretty quickly compared to how some people do. I promise this wasn't some kind of attempt to poke fun at people or make light of situations involving suicide, though. I just felt like that would be something that him, with a lot of grief and guilt, might attempt at. And like people who contemplate suicide and fail, he's not alone. He has people to help him through it, namely Riku, who has experienced that kind of guilt before
> 
> *2 I remember, the first time I watched this when I was 12 (I gave up on reaching it myself, so I just watched a video on YouTube), with how surprised everyone was in reaction to Kairi arriving, I thought it might've been someone else, like Roxas. I mean, it really shouldn't have been that surprising to Donald, Goofy, and Mickey, since they all saw her wielding a Keyblade back in KHII. Think maybe the people making this game just forgot about that when they made this scene?
> 
> *3 Just a little joke about how much the room changed with the updated graphics between 3D and A Fragmentary Passage
> 
> *4 That's referencing how the voice actress for Kairi changed from Hayden Panettiere back to Alyson Stoner for III. I was kind of expecting Hayden, but like I had V say, Alyson works well in the role, too
> 
> *5 That's just explanations I have to base this theory of them maybe being siblings. I'll only ever make it true here if it turns out to be true in the games
> 
> That little bit at the end is to show that while Vanitas isn't suicidal anymore, not much really changed after his conversation with Riku. He still doesn't believe in himself as a Master, anymore. Like Yen Sid said, to get his Keyblade back, he's gonna have to find a way to believe again, then face the guilt of his past. Luckily, I have a pretty good idea on how to give him back his belief that I'll be showing in the III story. It might not make a lot of sense, but neither does half this series as a whole


	7. A New Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora returns to the tower, and our favorite quartet sets out on their next adventure...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh. New record for shortest multi chapter purely Kingdom Hearts story. That might be broken with the next story. Technically, we're not at III yet...

It certainly took a while for Sora to get back from his trip to see the Spirits again, during which Vanitas ended up seeing a vision of Xehanort back in the Keyblade Graveyard, interacting with his associates, Xigbar and Saïx. Xehanort himself was smiling to himself as he remembered meeting with the Master of Masters seventy-five years prior.

' _Wait, does that mean he and Master Eraqus were seventy-nine years old during that first 'incident' eleven years ago?_ ' Vanitas thought. ' _If they were, Eraqus was looking great for almost eighty. Although, Xehanort was the only one that actually looked the part._ '

Of course, both Masters were taken out of their thoughts by Xigbar asking, "What's so funny, old man? Mind sharing with us?"

Xehanort looked up and looked between Xigbar and Saïx before looking down at the ground again.

"I stand here today because of a fated encounter, very many years ago, when I was still a young lad," Xehanort explained. "I never learned who he was, and perhaps I never will. But I see now the truth he spoke of."

Xigbar exclaimed a bit as he looked at Xehanort in annoyance.

"We don't have time for bedtime stories," he commented.

' _Or time to figure out why Xehanort sounds like Doc Brown_ ,' Vanitas thought. *** _1_ ***

"Without the kid, we're still down a thirteenth vessel, and as for the other twelve, only three of us are here right now," Xigbar continued. "Are you absolutely sure the others made their way back to their respective times?"

Xehanort looked up at Saïx, and the two shared a nod. Saïx looked up at three tall rock pires far above them, and the three disappeared and reappeared on three of the pires, with Xehanort standing on the tallest one. Saïx waved a hand, and holographic forms of Marluxia, Larxene, and Luxord appeared on other pires.

"Marluxia and Larxene are both here in this time, attempting to locate the New Seven Hearts," Saïx explained. "Luxord is also somewhere about in this age..." He looked towards Xigbar. "...but after our last meeting, he went in search of something, per your order. Isn't that so?"

Xigbar chuckled.

"Oh, that, right..." Xigbar said, looking up in remembrance. "Well, let's just say that what he's doing will benefit us in the long run, but it's really of no importance right this second. Go on."

"Playing your cards close as usual," Saïx commented. He looked up at Xehanort, and the two shared nods once more. "All right."

He waved his hands once more, and during his next words, holographic forms of Ansem, Xemnas, Dark Vanitas, and Young Xehanort appeared just below Xehanort.

"The hearts of Ansem, Xemnas, Dark Vanitas, Riku Replica, and Young Xehanort returned to where they came from, and assembled once more," Saïx announced. "Each of them is seeking a guardian of light."

Xigbar looked up at the holographic forms. "So the ones who turned human, then back into Nobodies are me, you, Luxord, Marluxia, and Larxene, that's five. The ones from the past transferred into replicas are Ansem, Xemnas, Dark Vanitas, Riku Replica, and the old man's younger self. Then we add the old man in, the total comes up to eleven. I think we're still missing two."

Xehanort smirked.

"Now we must discuss why we have assembled here today," he told the two. "My incarnations from past times, vessels in which I transferred my heart, my essence, were destroyed. Thus, I was restored to what you see now. For one to completely disappear, their heart and body must be restored to their original form. That is one reason why I distributed my heart into several vessels. Ansem and Xemnas originated from Terra, or rather his young form, and it too was restored. However, my heart has returned to me, while his is yet lost. I decided to fill this hollow vessel with my heart..."

He held out a hand, and a holographic image of the Xehanort possessed Terra appeared with the other ones in front of himself.

"Indeed, the very same heart that previously resided within young Terra," Xehanort said.

"So that makes twelve," Xigbar assessed. "Then who do we get to replace the kid?"

"Twenty replicas were created by Vexen," Saïx reminded him. "The first twelve were nothing more than puppets, barely human."

As he spoke, he waved a hand, and the holographic images of Vexen, Riku Replica, and a hooded Xion appeared on one of the pires.

"The prototype replica was the Riku Replica, and then No. i was made," Saïx continued. "That leaves us with six. Ansem, Xemnas, Dark Vanitas, Riku Replica, and Young Xehanort's hearts; five vessels, one left. Vexen and Demyx are candidates, but backups at best. The plan for the last replica is to give it a heart that is connected to Sora's."

"Connected to Sora?" Xigbar asked. "Anyone in mind?"

"The second prototype that was created, No. i," Saïx answered. "Though erased from memory, it remained in Vexen's records. Its existence is greatly linked to Sora's memories, and thus should prove more than adequate for our needs."

"No. i..." Xigbar repeated in thought. "An imaginary number, how fitting.

"While Young Xehanort is occupied with transferring hearts, I must go fulfill my duty," Saïx announced. "I will go and retrieve Vexen."

"Reliable as always," Xigbar commented with a smile. "It sounds to me like you've got everything dependably under control." He looked up at Xehanort. "Well, I'm off to do my part."

He disappeared in a surge of darkness. Xehanort and Saïx looked at each other.

"The plan, as we agreed upon," Saïx said.

He bowed while placing a hand on his chest, and disappeared as darkness surged around him. All of the holographic images that were floating or standing in place around the pires all disappeared just seconds after he did, leaving Xehanort alone.

The old man smirked and looked up, muttering, "May your heart be your guiding key."

Vanitas gasped as the vision ended.

That vision was... definitely something. It helped confirm what they'd be facing when they ran into the New Organization pretty soon. That'd help them prepare a bit since he knew what all they'd be facing. But, that also meant that there was a chance they'd be bringing back Xion and try to use her in their ploy. He couldn't let that happen to one of his friends. But what could he do when he didn't know how they were even gonna get any of those previous Organization members back?

Vanitas was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps on the stairs outside of the room getting closer. The door swung open to reveal an energetic Sora, along with a happy Donald and Goofy.

"I'm back!" Sora announced.

But then he looked around in confusion to see only Vanitas and Yen Sid in the room.

"Huh?" Sora asked. The trio entered the room, with Donald closing the door behind them. "Only us?"

"The others all had important work to do," Yen Sid explained. "So I sent them on their way."

"That's great," Sora commented, crossing his arms and looking down while Donald frowned at the brunette. "They coulda said good-bye."

"It's your fault you missed them," Donald accused, pointing right at Sora.

"It is not," Sora said. "I just like to say good-bye to all my friends."

"Then do it faster!" Donald exclaimed.

"Those things take time, you prick," Vanitas commented.

"Yeah," Sora agreed, leaning down so he could face Donald better. "I'm here now, right?"

"We have matters to discuss," Yen Sid announced.

That got Sora and Donald to look up, and the two of them and Goofy stood at attention while Vanitas kept sitting at the table with his hands in his pockets, as the quartet looked at the former Keyblade Master.

"In order to defeat Xehanort, there are allies we must gather, Vanitas's oldest friends, acting now to rouse them from their slumber," Yen Sid said. "We have discussed this before, Sora."

Sora, Donald, Vanitas, and Goofy all nodded in agreement.

"Your Mark of Mastery exam was conducted in the hopes you would acquire the power to wake them," Yen Sid continued. Sora crossed his arms and looked down. "However, the darkness nearly took control of you, and your grasp of your new abilities leaves much to be desired."

Sora looked up in realization, then looked back down. During Yen Sid's next words, Donald and Goofy exclaimed in worry for their friend.

"Furthermore, Xehanort nearly made you his vessel, and in the process stripped you of most of the power you had gained by then," Yen Sid continued. "I suspect you have already noticed this, correct?"

Sora sighed and looked right down. Vanitas frowned in worry for his cousin, knowing this couldn't be easy for him.

"Sora..." Donald and Goofy said, also worried for the brunette.

But then Sora quickly perked up and looked up again.

"Whatever!" he said, placing his fists against his hips. "Happens all the time."

"Surprisingly accurate," Vanitas said, frowning in thought. "We went on that first journey against Ansem, you lost all your abilities once we got to Castle Oblivion. You learned all those moves at Castle Oblivion, then forget them all when Naminé restored your memories. You learn all those abilities and attacks thanks to Roxas learning them all and passing them to you, and you end up forgetting them thanks to a bald headed prick that sounds like Spock. This happens to you way too much."

"Yes," Yen Sid said, agreeing with both Sora and Vanitas. "Chip and Dale, along with allies from Radiant Garden, are currently analyzing data that Ansem the Wise provided to Riku and which could offer us a clue to retrieving our friends' lost hearts. I have very high hopes for this data." *** _2_ ***

' _Had to have high, high, hopes,_ ' Vanitas thought, making sure to hide his smirk.

"However, our greatest chance at stopping Xehanort's plan still lies with you, Sora and Vanitas," Yen Sid said, surprising the cousins. "If you trust the guidance your hearts give, I know your Keyblade will return..." He looked at Vanitas before looking to Sora. "And we will find all of the guardians of light. But first, you must regain all of the strength you have lost. Perhaps it is foolish to expect a complete recovery, but it is absolutely vital you perfect one power: the power of waking, which you failed to master during your exam. There's someone who lost his strength and found it again, a true hero to whom you ought to pay a visit."

Sora perked up at the words "true hero." During Yen Sid's next words, he even struck poses where he flexed his imaginary muscles.

"Perhaps he can point you in the right direction," Yen Sid said while Donald and Goofy jumped in surprise and Vanitas laughed at Sora's ridiculous poses.

' _Is it me, or is he acting much more cartoony now?_ ' Vanitas thought. ' _Then again, I was just acting a bit more cartoony by think-referencing Panic! at the Disco during Yen Sid's explanation. Was the writer of that game and the one of this series making things a bit more kid friendly?_ ' *** _3_ ***

"Got it!" Sora told Yen Sid as he stopped posing.

Yen Sid nodded at the brunette before looking at the ravenette.

"Vanitas will stay with you," he announced. "Perhaps being with you for long enough will give him back the confidence he needs if his Keyblade shall return to him."

"I doubt that, but it can't hurt to try," Vanitas commented, standing up off the table. He looked at his friends. "Plus, it might be beneficial to see a bit more about the Greek Pantheon."

"How so?" Donald asked.

"They still exist on my Earth, in a bit more of a modern sense," Vanitas explained. "They had babies with mortals up until the twentieth century."

"What made them stop?" Sora asked.

"The demigods encountered humans that were born with special powers, nicknamed the Enhanced," Vanitas continued. "And the demigods went to war with them to protect the gods and their kingdom. It was a fucking bloodbath. All the demigods and all the Enhanced slaughtered each other."

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Yen Sid winced at his words.

"The gods made a vow to stop having children with mortals, because they had seen enough of their children die for them," Vanitas continued once more. "And they managed to keep up the vow. Up until the god Ares visited my mother three times, each visit giving her the gift of a child."

It took Sora, Donald, and Goofy approximately three seconds to figure out what the ravenette was implying.

"You mean..." Goofy started.

"Yep," Vanitas confirmed. "My pappy's the god of war. Unfortunately, I don't mean Kratos."

He laughed, being the only one understanding the reference.

"I at least finally understand what that scanner meant when it said I wasn't completely human, and why he never came back," Vanitas rationalized. "But the least the prick could have done was give us a warning about why he didn't stick around."

"What reason?" Goofy asked.

"The war between demigods and Enhanced only killed all the Enhanced that existed at that time," Vanitas said. "Enhanced are still born every once in a while, and most of them somehow know about the grudge match between the gods. Something that had never happened before, though, was a demigod being born also being born an Enhanced. Until..."

He raised a hand, and a fireball appeared over his palm. Sora's eyes widened.

"You're a demigod and an Enhanced!" he exclaimed.

"Yep," Vanitas nodded. "Of course, with the combined bloodlines, it makes me more powerful than anyone from either of those groups combined. It made me the prime candidate to become a Keyblade Master. (sighs) Maybe seeing a form of my bloodlines, I can probably get back some of that confidence."

He walked up next to Sora and nodded at his cousin, who nodded back.

"Master Yen Sid..." Donald said as he and Goofy walked forwards.

"You can count on us to take care of Sora and V!" Goofy added.

"I would have it no other way," Yen Sid admitted. "I put Sora and Vanitas in your hands."

Sora laughed.

"Donald! Goofy!" he exclaimed, wrapping an arm around each of the animals' shoulders to pull them in for a hug.

Vanitas laughed and joined in the hug, making their semi circle into a full circle.

"You can't become a master without us!" Donald informed Sora with a knowing expression.

"Huh?" Sora asked, confused.

"I never woulda thought you'd fail that exam, Sora," Goofy admitted.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, offended, as he stepped out of the hug.

"He didn't fail, Xehanort interfered so he never got a chance to finish it," Vanitas defended his cousin, reminding the two what had actually happened.

"But he's still just a half-pint," Donald commented.

"Says the shortest member of our team," Vanitas commented, before frowning in confusion. He muttered, "What exactly does that saying even mean?"

"But the four of us together make a pint and a half!" Goofy promised.

"Two pints," Sora corrected them, hands on his hips again.

"And don't forget, we'll keep an eye on you both," Donald assured Sora and Vanitas before holding out a hand.

"Oh, this is gonna be lots of fun!" Goofy exclaimed, placing his hand on top of Donald's.

"It's not a vacation!" Sora reminded the two with a smile.

"Still, it's good to be back together again," Vanitas commented with a smile, placing his hand on top of Goofy's.

Sora laughed and placed his hand on top of Vanitas's.

"Let's go!" he announced.

The four of them then stood at attention and faced Yen Sid.

"Count on us!" they all assured in unison.

Yen Sid assured at the quartet, and the four exited the tower and entered the Gummi Ship, ready for their next journey.

* * *

It wasn't as easy as they expected to get to Olympus Colisem. The four of them sat in their seats in the cockpit as the ship floated in the Lanes Between. They were all confused, and Sora and Donald had their arms crossed, Sora's in contemplation and Donald's in annoyance. Sora hummed as he looked directly down.

"How are we supposed to get there now?" he asked, sitting back in his seat and placing his hands on the back of his head.

"What?" Donald asked, confused. "I thought you knew?"

"Looks like all the old highways are closed," Goofy observed.

"Of course this'd happen," Vanitas commented.

"Didn't Master Yen Sid say that Sora and V should trust the guidance their hearts give?" Goofy asked.

"C'mon, guys," Donald said. "Which way?"

Sora and Vanitas both thought about that in their seats, with Sora muttering, "Ummm..."

"Hey, would you both get serious?" Donald asked, once again annoyed.

"Give me a break, I'm trying!" Sora said, taking his hands off of his head. "These things take time!"

"Plus, like Goof just said, the highways are closed," Vanitas said. "Kind of hard to get through without the old roads."

Donald sighed out in defeat as he looked down.

"Well, since we've already been before, why don't you try picturing our friends like we're there?" Goofy suggested.

During Goofy's words, Sora stood up and walked around his chair in contemplation.

"Hmmm..." he hummed, hand on his chin in thought.

Sora flexed his arms up while looking up once again, imitating Hercules. That got Vanitas to smirk.

"Well?" Donald asked.

"Sorry, I got nothin'," Sora told him. "What did you expect?"

"Pretty much that," Vanitas admitted while Donald sat back in his seat.

"'May your heart be your guiding key'," Goofy said, surprising everyone.

"Huh?" Sora asked. "What's that?"

"An old saying of Keyblade Wielders," Vanitas said. "It hasn't been said in decades."

"Master Yen Sid always said that, right before we went off on any of our real important adventures," Goofy told them.

"Really?" Sora asked. He looked at Vanitas. "That old of a saying, huh?"

"You have no idea," Vanitas commented.

"I've never heard of it," Donald admitted.

"I was starting to think I had just imagined it," Goofy admitted. "I guess this means I didn't."

Sora looked back up out of the windshield while Vanitas patted a now happy looking Goofy on the shoulder to celebrate him being right.

"'May my heart be my guiding key'," Sora repeated.

He looked down, but then looked back up with a small chuckle. Sora ran around his seat and stood in front of it.

"I've got it!" he announced, holding up his hand.

The Kingdom Key appeared in Sora's hand, and he pointed it outside the windshield. Light appeared over the tip of the blade, and seconds later, a blue gate appeared in front of the ship.

"It's a gate!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed.

"Hot damn!" Vanitas exclaimed while clapping his hands once in victory.

Sora sat down back in his seat and pumped his fist, exclaiming, "All right!"

He grabbed the controls in front of him and added, "Olympus Coliseum, here we come!"

"Bitching!" Vanitas exclaimed, pumping his fist in excitement. "All the way!"

Donald and Goofy held similar expressions of excitement as they flew the ship right into the gate. Light flashed as they flew through the gate, signaling their trip to Olympus, to the start of their next journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *1 Yes, and obvious reference, but I couldn't help myself
> 
> *2 I adjusted the line a bit to include the Radiant Garden group, since they say Chip and Dale here, but once we get to III, it's suddenly Ienzo and the crew working on it, and Chip and Dale hardly show up. So, I felt it would be necessary to mention it here
> 
> *3 Definitely not making things kid friendly, V. I mean, if it was more kid friendly, you wouldn't be here
> 
> Well, our time with the KH Timeline is officially at an end. The series ends with the group traveling to Olympus Coliseum, right at the end of A Fragmentary Passage and that flashback at the beginning of III. Up next, obviously, we're going on to the story from III. Of course, it's gonna be a little hard to piece together since all I got in place of Timeline episodes is Everglow's playthrough. I'm definitely gonna use that, but I'm also using Re:Mind for the flashbacks. For obvious reasons


End file.
